Department for Transport

Tolls

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the Exchequer is of removing all road tolls and making good any shortfall in funding from the public purse.

Mr John Hayes: There are two tolls operated under concession with the Government – the Severn Crossing and the M6 Toll, with maximum concession lengths of 30 and 50 years respectively. There are a further four local authority tolled crossings, and a number of smaller privately owned tolled crossings. Note that the Dartford crossing has a user charge, not a toll, and similarly the new Mersey Gateway Bridge will also have a user charge. I do not have information on local authority and privately owned tolls. For the two concessions, removing the tolls would involve changing or terminating those concessions. This would mean a negotiation with the toll operating companies, so costs have not been estimated.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which local authorities have a road asset management plan in place.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport continues to work closely with the all parts of the sector to help spread best practice in highways asset management, including through the Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme.The development of highways asset management plans and strategies is a matter for each local highway authority. Many authorities are currently at different stages of implementing such plans and the Department does not hold comprehensive data on how many authorities have up to date asset management plans in place. The National Audit Office in their report -http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Maintaining-Strategic-Infrastructure-Roads.pdf  - stated that at least 45 local highway authorities had not yet completed an asset management plan when surveyed in early 2014.  The recent consultation on local highways maintenance funding from 2015/16 onwards -  https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-authority-highways-maintenance-funding-201516-to-202021 - proposed that a proportion of funding could be awarded to authorities who demonstrate that they have an asset management strategy in place and are adopting efficient delivery of highway maintenance services.

Schools: Transport

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department offers to children who wish to walk, cycle or use a scooter to travel to school.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

London-Brighton Railway Line

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps Network Rail is taking to improve punctuality on the Brighton mainline; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: Network Rail acknowledge the performance of the Brighton Main Line has not been acceptable over the last few months. Recent periods have seen significant levels of disruption from signalling and track faults, engineering possession overruns, operating problems within both Network Rail and Southern, and external actions including trespass and fatalities. Southern have recognised that performance has not been good enough and have published a Performance Improvement Plan, available at the following web link:http://www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/performance-results/southern-performance-improvement-plans/ Network Rail are investing in improving the reliability of the assets on the route, including signalling and track renewal schemes, and measures to improve resilience to seasonal weather variations; they are bringing in additional fast response staff across all disciplines, from track, signalling and mobile managers. Network Rail are also bringing in new contingency arrangements to improve their response times. In addition, Southern are taking action to upgrade equipment on trains to improve reliability, to improve crew management arrangements and to communicate with passengers promptly in times of disruption.

East Coast Railway Line

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2014 to Question 906431 given to the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central, what enhancements are to be undertaken to the Intercity Express Programme rail fleet operating on the East Coast mainline by Stagecoach and Virgin; and what commitments on this matter are included in the terms of those companies franchise agreement.

Claire Perry: Inter City Railways Limited (a joint venture of Stagecoach and Virgin) have committed to deliver £20 million worth of enhancements to the new Intercity Express Programme (IEP) fleet. This includes the provision of buffet facilities in the form of a Café-Bar style outlet capable of producing hot and cold snacks and drinks on all trains; and a number of other enhancements to the look and feel of the interior and exterior of the trains. All of these variations to the IEP fleet are included in the Franchise Agreement, which we expect to publish in March 2015, around the time of the start of the new franchise.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Claire Perry: The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost, due to the data not being centrally held.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to permit motorists to opt out of the arrangements by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to pass their details to third parties; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: Data subjects already have a legal right to ask the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) not to release personal data where it can be demonstrated that such disclosure would cause unwarranted and substantial damage or distress. In all other circumstances, the DVLA discloses personal information only to authorised third parties with a legitimate reason for requesting it. Information is released where it is fair and lawful to do so and in compliance with the Data Protection Act. The DVLA has a comprehensive set of safeguards in place to ensure that the data provided to third parties is requested for specific purposes and is used appropriately.

Railways: Yorkshire and the Humber

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve train speeds between Doncaster and Hull; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Government has made available £200m for passenger journey improvements in the 2014 - 2019 Network Rail Control Period, and looks to the rail industry to identify the best schemes. The Department is not aware of any proposal to improve train speeds from Doncaster to Hull.

Railways: Catering

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on provision of on-board refreshments on rail services.

Claire Perry: The Government believes that the provision (or not) of such services is generally best decided by the operator, rather than dictated by central Government, as we believe that the operators are far better placed than we are to understand and react to the demands of their customers. For example the new Intercity Express trains have been designed to provide the flexibility for the operator to choose the most appropriate catering services - Inter City Railways included plans for introducing standard class buffet facilities on the new trains as part of their bid, and they are discussing this further with the rolling stock provider.

Railways: Scotland

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with Transport Scotland on the proposals on rail in the Smith Commission; and what issues were raised by his Department in those discussions.

Claire Perry: There have been no discussions between the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland about the proposals on rail in the Smith Commission. Officials across the UK Government departments will be working with the Scottish Government to understand their views on the Smith Agreement.

Railways: Infrastructure

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his latest cost estimate is for (a) Reading Station Area Redevelopment, (b) East West Rail Phase 1 and Phase 2, (c) the Northern Hub, (d) TransPennine electrification, (e) Great Western Mainline electrification, (f) Midland Mainline electrification, (g) South Wales Mainline electrification and (h) Valley Lines electrification.

Claire Perry: This Government has committed to a transformational package of rail investment, including an extensive rolling programme of electrification of over 850 route miles, compared to just 10 miles completed between 1997 and 2010. At this early stage, eight months into Network Rail’s current five year funding period, the cost estimates of many of the programmes have not yet been determined. Network Rail continues to develop the Rail Investment Strategy programme with the Department and review costs with the Office of Rail Regulation. The Transport Secretary has been clear these projects should be delivered within the overall Network Rail budget. The latest cost estimates (in 2012/13 prices) are listed below, though not all of these programmes have been through the Office of Rail Regulation’s cost scrutiny process (“Enhancements Cost Adjustment Mechanism”): (a) Reading Station Area Resignalling and Remodelling, including the new station and maintenance depot: £895m is Network Rail’s anticipated final cost when the scheme completes at Easter 2015(b) East West Rail Phase 1 (Oxford – Bicester) – Network Rail estimate of £318m(c) East West Rail Phase 2 (Bicester – Bletchley – Bedford) – currently at an early stage of development(d) The Northern Hub – funding commitment of £600m, programme still in development(e) TransPennine electrification – funding commitment of £300m, programme still in development(f) Great Western Mainline electrification – Network Rail recent estimate of £1.7bn(g) Midland Mainline electrification - Network Rail recent estimate of £1.3bn(h) South Wales Mainline electrification – the section from Cardiff to Swansea is at an early stage of development(i) Valley Lines electrification – at an early stage of development (sponsored by the Welsh Government)

Pedestrian Crossings

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his Answer of 10 September 2014 to Question 208314, by what date he intends to complete consideration of whether to update existing guidance on pedestrian crossings.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff are employed in his Department's headquarter buildings.

Claire Perry: The number of staff employed in the Department’s headquarter buildings is 6621. The Full Time Equivalent is 5996.99 These figures include the central department and it’s agencies except Highways Agency who do not have a headquarters building.

Taxis

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the Law Commission's review of the legal framework governing taxis and private hire vehicles in England and Wales.

Mr John Hayes: The Government is currently considering the Law Commission’s comprehensive report on reforming taxi and private hire vehicle legislation which was published in May this year. In line with the protocol that exists between the Government and the Law Commission, we will provide a full response in due course.

Fraud

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) his Department, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Claire Perry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 15 December to Question 217821.

Home Office

Vetting

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what average length of time is taken to process Disclosure and Barring Service applications in each police area.

Karen Bradley: The average number of working days taken to process a Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure application, by police force area, for the period November 2013 to October 2014, is provided in the table below:   



Disclosures despatched
(Excel SpreadSheet, 27.5 KB)

Disclosure and Barring Service Independent Monitor

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions the Independent Monitor for the Disclosure and Barring Service has overturned decisions made by the police since 1 December 2012.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 28 November 2014



From 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2014, the Independent Monitor reviewed 576 cases. Of these, the Independent Monitor has deleted police discretionary information entirely in 29 cases, partially deleted information in 36 cases and has amended wording in 10 cases.

Vetting

Sir Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department last reviewed the time taken by the West Midlands Constabulary to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service application.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 05 December 2014



The Department receives monthly updates from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) on the time taken by police forces, including West Midlands police, to complete local police checks as part of the disclosure application process.

Crime: Rural Areas

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of rural crime on the economy.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government has not made a specific assessment of the effect that crime committed in rural areas has had on the economy.Police reform is working, and crime has fallen by more than 20 per cent under this Coalition Government, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales. The latest Crime Survey data shows that the proportion of adults who were victims of crime was substantially lower in rural than urban areas. However, the Coalition Government recognises that rural communities may be particularly vulnerable to certain crime types, including theft of fuel, agricultural machinery and metal, which we recognise will have an economic impact on communities. Local initiatives such as Farm Watch, have shown themselves to be part of the response to such crimes where they operate. The election of Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales has given communities, including rural communities, a stronger voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them. In addition, the Home Office awarded around £40,000 to the National Rural Crime Network from the Police Innovation Fund earlier this year. This will help to reduce crime in rural areas by providing information and support for rural communities and encouraging direct interaction between businesses, organisations and the police.We also welcome the recent launch of the Centre for Rural Policing and Justice in Dyfed Powys. This has been led by the Police and Crime Commissioner and will see the police collaborating with the Cardiff-based Universities’ Police Science Institute to develop new expertise in keeping rural communities safe.

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with a disability work in her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The 2014 Annual Civil Service Employment Survey showed that as at 31 March 2014, a total of 2,190 Home Office staff declared a disability.

Freezing of Assets

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many restraint orders to freeze assets were imposed in each of the last seven financial years.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



The table below provides the number of restraint orders obtained in England and Wales in each of the last seven years.  Number of Restraint Orders in England & Wales2007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-132013-141,4971,7961,6651,8561,5931,4661,417 As shown in the table below, more assets have been recovered since 2010 than previously, although prosecutors now face greater difficulties in obtaining restraint orders following the impact of the Court of Appeal decision in Windsor & Ors v Crown Prosecution Service [2011] EWCA Crim 143.   Value of assets recovered in England & Wales2007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14£148.86m£159.90m£170.53m£177.40m£193.86m£182.44m£188.97m   The Government has taken steps to address this by bringing forward provisions in the Serious Crime Bill, which is currently before Parliament, to lower the legal test for restraint to make it easier to obtain restraint orders earlier in investigations. We are also working with operational partners to ensure that the use of restraint orders is considered at the outset of all appropriate investigations.

Trade Unions

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has of the cost of removing check-off contributions for trade unions in her Department.

Karen Bradley: An estimate of the cost of removing the check-off facility in the Home Office has been made. The cost was not significant. The Home Office has not cited cost as a reason for removing the service.

Trade Unions

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of providing check-off services for trade union contributions in each year since 2010.

Karen Bradley: An estimate of the recent cost of providing the check-off facility has been made. The cost was not significant. The Home Office decided to remove the check-off facility but cost was not given as a reason for doing so.

Vetting: Self-employed

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to enable individuals who are self-employed to apply for Disclosure and Barring Service certificates relating to themselves; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates are designed to help employers make more informed recruitment decisions. Self-employed people cannot apply directly to the DBS for a standard or enhanced criminal record certificate. This is because the legislation requires that the purpose of the check is to assess the individual’s suitability for a particular post or activity, and that a recruiting organisation must confirm the eligibility of a position for a criminal records check. A self-employed individual cannot assess their own suitability to work in a specific role.Self-employed people may obtain basic criminal record checks, which provide details of unspent convictions or may seek standard or enhanced checks for eligible posts if they are working with employment agencies or other employers such as schools or local authorities.

Vetting

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason people resident in England who wish to request a criminal record check on themselves must approach Disclosure Scotland rather than the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



Those resident in England and Wales may apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for standard or enhanced criminal record certificates. At present, basic certificates, which contain details only of unspent convictions, are provided by Disclosure Scotland for applicants in England and Wales. This service has been formally delegated to Disclosure Scotland by the DBS as further changes are required to DBS technical systems to deliver the service. It is intended to provide the service through the DBS in due course. An individual may also make a Subject Access Request to their local police force under the Data Protection Act 1998 which will generate information held on police records.

Tickets: Fraud

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with representatives of (a) primary ticketing agencies and (b) secondary ticketing platforms on enhancing the prevention and detection of (i) the use of botnets and (ii) ticket fraud.

Karen Bradley: Home Office Ministers and officials have had no meetings with primary ticketing agencies or secondary ticketing platforms on this issue. Ministers in the Home Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have discussions and correspond together on a wide range of issues, and this has included agreeing the content of the Consumer Rights Bill. Officials from those Departments are in regular contact, including regarding the issue of resale of tickets.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times she or Ministers in her Department have met their counterparts in the (a) Welsh Government, (b) Scottish Government and (c) Northern Ireland Executive to discuss the provisions of the Counter-Terrorism Bill.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Abortion

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of anti-abortion activity aimed at women and staff attending abortion clinics and pregnancy advisory bureaux over the last four years; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to enforce a designated area around abortion clinics and pregnancy advisory bureaux within which anti-abortion activity cannot take place; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning: The Home Office is aware of a number of recent protests outside some abortion clinics which we take extremely seriously. This country has a proud history of allowing free speech but the right to peaceful protest does not extend to harassment or threatening behaviour. The law currently provides protection against such acts.The police have a range of powers to deal with protests outside clinics. Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, makes it an offence to display threatening, or abusive words or images that, within the sight of someone, is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 allows the police to place conditions on the location, duration or numbers attending a public assembly. This can be applied where the police believe that the assembly may result in serious public disorder, serious damage to property, serious disruption to the life of the community, or that the purpose by the assembly organisers is to intimidate others to compel them not to do an act that they have a right to do.The police have dispersal powers (in public places) under sections 34 and 35 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, to remove or reduce the likelihood of members of the public being harassed, alarmed or distressed, or to prevent local crime or disorder.The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 includes criminal offences that protect individuals, who are conducting lawful activities, from harassment by protestors.The policing of protests and the use of powers are an operational matter for the police.

Tickets: Fraud

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on reviewing the applicability of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to the use or commissioning of botnets in respect to the purchasing of event tickets.

Karen Bradley: Section 3A of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 makes it an offence to supply or obtain articles for use in offences under section 1 (unauthorised access to computer material) or section 3 (unauthorised actions with intent to impair, or with recklessness as to impairing, operation of computer etc.). For the purposes of section 3A an article or tool could include a ‘botnet’. We keep the Computer Misuse Act 1990 under constant review.

Immigration Controls

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 4 of page 1 of her Department's publication, Changes to Family Migration Rules Impact Assessment, published on 12 June 2012, if she will ensure that the Government's review of family migration rules planned for April 2015 takes into account the recommendations of the APPG on Migration's inquiry into family migration.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Confiscation Orders

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what value of assets has been recovered from overseas confiscation orders in each of the last seven years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Legal Costs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) legal and (b) other costs have been incurred by the Government in association with (i) investor-state dispute case brought by Eurotunnel against the UK and French governments in 2003, (ii) in the investor-state dispute brought by Mr Ashok Sancheti against the Government under the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty and (iii) any other such cases since 1994; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: Legal and other costs relating to work done within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on specific cases are not recorded separately.We do not hold detailed records dating back so far so complete records of costs for external legal spending, for example for instructing Counsel, are no longer held for these cases. However, the Department scrutinises external spending carefully, in order to ensure that costs are kept as low as possible.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Mr David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) departmental spend in these categories in the last five years is set out in the table below.2010/2011: Consultancy: £19.2m Contingent Labour/temporary staff: £5.2m2011/2012: Consultancy: £12.0m Contingent Labour/temporary staff: £4.3m2012/2013: Consultancy: £3.5m Contingent Labour/temporary staff: £5.8m2013/2014: Consultancy: £1.5m Contingent Labour/temporary staff: £6.2m2014/2015: Consultancy: £1.2m Contingent Labour/temporary staff: £3.4mSince March 2010, the provision of contingent labour/temporary staff in the FCO has been provided by Hays Specialist Recruitment as part of a managed service for the provision of temporary labour. Under the current government; a Cabinet Office freeze on management consultancy has led to all governmment departments driving down consultancy costs. This reflected in the steady reduction in consultancy spend from 2011 onwards; our spend on consultancy in 2013/14 was 92% lower than in 2010/2011.It is not possible to specify over this period how many people have been employed; their contract lengths and their equivalent civil service salary band without incurring disproportionate cost.

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase trade between the UK and APEC economies; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Government is actively supporting British companies to do business in APEC countries. Our posts in the region help UK-based companies to identify and pursue new opportunities and work to promote the conditions in which business can succeed. To raise awareness in the UK of business opportunities, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has supported relevant business networks, including the UK-ASEAN Business Council and the China Britain Business Council. The Government actively supports the negotiation of an EU Free Trade Agreement with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. The EU-Korea FTA, signed in July 2011, has seen UK exports of goods to Korea more than double from £2.1bn to £4.6bn, and agreement has been reached on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada and a Free Trade Agreement with Singapore. We expect these to deliver a significant boost to the UK’s trade with these economies and UKTI is working to ensure that UK business is well placed to secure the commercial benefits.

Bahrain

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to secure the release of political prisoners in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We encourage the Government of Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. If we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our wider dialogue on human rights and reform.

Bahrain

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations have been made to his Bahraini counterpart about the health facilities on offer in prison to Dr Abduljalil Al Singace.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our Embassy in Bahrain raised the case of Dr Abduljalil Al Singace, along with a number of other cases, with the Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior in May. Our Ambassador in Bahrain also raised our broader concerns around detainee rights and prison conditions with HM the King, HRH the Crown Prince and the Minister of Interior.

Bahrain

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many political prisoners there are in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government does not hold details on all the cases and charges against prisoners in Bahrain. If we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our wider dialogue on human rights and reform. Most recently, on 6 December, the The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed progress on the reform agenda with HM the King and HRH the Crown Prince of Bahrain.

Colombia

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Colombian authorities about respect for labour rights in the oil and mining industries in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: During his visit to Colombia in February this year, the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) raised business and human rights in his meetings with President Santos and Foreign Affairs, Finance and Trade Ministers.In addition, our officials have had several meetings with the Colombian government, civil society and businesses in Colombia to discuss the UK Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in line with our commitment to working for widespread international uptake of the UN Guiding Principles and to developing partnerships with other countries to progress this.The British Embassy will raise trade union rights and the issue of the rights of contracted labour in the oil and mining sectors, at their next meeting with the Colombian Ministry of the Interior in early 2015.

Colombia

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Colombian authorities about protection of members of Union Sindical Obrera and its allies in Meta against assassination attempts and other targeted violence.

Mr Hugo Swire: Our Embassy in Bogota will meet Union Sindical Obrera (USO) on Thursday 18 December. Our Embassy will also raise trade union rights, including this particular case and the issue of rights for contracted labour in the oil and mining sectors, at their next meeting with the Colombian Ministry of the Interior in early 2015.Business and human rights is a core part of our human rights strategy in Colombia. Our Embassy regularly raises our concerns about the violence and intimidation suffered by human rights defenders, including trade unionists, with the Colombian government.

Northern Ireland Office

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Because of the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010 to the Northern Ireland Executive, and subsequent reconfiguration of the Northern Ireland Office, my Department does not hold figures for the periods prior to 2010. Attempting to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.The details regarding expenditure by my Department for the last four financial years in respect of (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour are as follows:(a) Expenditure on consultants:Financial YearAmount (£) (excl. VAT)2010-201102011-201202012-201302013-20141,350(b) Expenditure on temporary staff:Financial YearAmount (£) (excl. VAT)2010-201145,795.212011-201267,830.142012-2013132,140.052013-2014106,800.85My Department does not record details for staff who could be considered as contingent labour separately. These details are contained within the information for temporary staff. To provide this information and details of staff numbers, contract types and equivalent civil service grades would incur disproportionate costs.

Food Banks

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when she has visited a foodbank.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has not made any visits to foodbanks.

Attorney General

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Attorney General, how much the Law Officers' Departments has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Mr Robert Buckland: Information on recorded expenditure by the Law Officers’ Departments consultants, temporary staff and contingent labour in each of the last five financial years is contained in the following table.Attorney General’s OfficeYearConsultancy ExpenditureTemporary Staff ExpenditureContingent services2013-14-£1,182-2012-13£4,258--2011-12£4,000--2010-11-£9,745-2009-10£42,479£54,185-Treasury Solicitor’s DepartmentYearConsultancy ExpenditureTemporary Staff ExpenditureContingent services2013-14-£9,095,385£296,4632012-13£1,000£5,248,180£251,4662011-12£29,050£3,585,399£635,2992010-11£9,182£2,880,789£774,1082009-10£244,531£6,664,899£827,670HM Crown Prosecution Service InspectorateYearConsultancy ExpenditureTemporary Staff ExpenditureContingent services2013-14£4,022-£15,5702012-13£5,481--2011-12£9,998£4,311-2010-11-£31,530£20,2952009-10£27,284£27,527-Serious Fraud OfficeYearConsultancy ExpenditureTemporary Staff /Contingent Services Expenditure (2)2013-14£48,000£3,926,0002012-13£31,000£2,672,0002011-12£856,000£2,296,0002010-11£1,557,000 (1)£3,693,0002009-10£2,199,000£6,600,000Crown Prosecution ServiceYearConsultancy Expenditure (3)Temporary Staff ExpenditureContingent services2013-14£960£189,624£273,9352012-13£9,793£66,866£2,8612011-12£13,347£257,057£23,3552010-11£684,314£1,616,284£392,9682009-10£1,881,834£2,464,073£3,293,676(1) During the preparation of an answer to an earlier PQ (206676), the SFO identified that this figure is incorrectly stated in their accounts and should be £1,568k. The original figure is given here for consistency.(2) The totals shown in this table are for contingent labour (excluding consultants). This total includes all other temporary staffing (including agency staff, interim managers and specialist contractors).(3) CPS Expenditure for 2009/10 relates to expenditure with consultancy firms for professional services and may include payments for services not covered by the Office of Government Commerce’s Consultancy Value Programme definition.  Records are not held centrally of the number of individuals such employed during these years, the length of their contracts or their equivalent civil service salary band. To verify these details would incur a disproportionate cost.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

New Businesses

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many small and medium-sized enterprises have been started in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley local authority area, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) the UK in each of the last five years; and what proportion of such businesses is still trading.

Matthew Hancock: The estimated number of business start-ups in a) Barnsley East constituency, b) Barnsley local authority, c) South Yorkshire and d) Great Britain between 2009 and 2014 are shown in the table below.   These statistics are compiled from BankSearch data, which does not cover Northern Ireland. BankSearch does not report on the size of start-ups, nor the proportion of start-ups that were still trading in subsequent years.   Estimated number of business start-ups (2009 to 2014) YearBarnsley East constituencyBarnsley local authoritySouth YorkshireGreat Britain20093101,0106,630428,40020104001,1907,350482,83020113801,1507,580507,87020123701,1207,400489,78020133601,0506,610446,830  Source: BankSearch: number of new business bank accounts opened. All figures rounded to nearest 10.

New Businesses

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many small businesses have been started in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and (c) Barnsley in each year since May 2010.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 11 December 2014



The estimated number of business start-ups in a) England, b) Yorkshire and the Humber, c) Barnsley between 2010 and 2014 are shown in the table below. These statistics are compiled from BankSearch data, which does not report on the size of start-ups.   Estimated number of business start-ups (2010 to 2014) YearEnglandYorkshire and the HumberBarnsley2010433,30033,7801,1902011458,02034,4101,1502012440,40033,3101,1202013398,86029,6301,050 Source: BankSearch: number of new business bank accounts opened. All figures rounded to the nearest 10.

UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, in which posts staff of UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation are on secondment from industry; from which company each such person was seconded; and what the start and end date of each such secondment is.

Matthew Hancock: The information requested is provided in the table below.   PostCompanyStart DateEnd dateInternational Cyber DirectorBAES Applied Intelligence2 September 201331 March 2015Typhoon Campaign CoordinatorBAE Systems27 January 201431 December 2015Joint Export Management Team MemberMBDA UK Limited10 February 201426 February 2016Protocol OfficerBAE Systems8 September 20146 March 2015

British Marine Federation

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the results were of the impact assessment carried out on the effect on the small marine business sector of his Department's decision to withdraw enhanced funding from the British Marine Federation.

Matthew Hancock: Earlier this year, the indicative amounts of funding for value added services (‘enhanced activity’) to be delivered by the British Marine Federation (BMF) for UK businesses at the Dusseldorf Boat Show and the Miami Boat Show were withdrawn. Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) grants for small business customers at these events were unaffected. Subsequent to this, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has offered an additional five TAP grants to assist new-to-event exhibitors at Dusseldorf. Since UKTI and the BMF had not progressed beyond the basic planning stage on the enhanced activity to be delivered alongside grants at these two shows when the funding was withdrawn, it is not possible to estimate accurately the impact of this withdrawal on small businesses in the sector.

Business: Procurement

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to prohibit the practice of companies requiring their suppliers to make a payment to join or to remain on their lists of suppliers.

Matthew Hancock: The Government has already taken action to prohibit this practice in certain sectors. This is why the statutory Grocery Supply Code prohibits payments as a condition of stocking or listing a supplier’s grocery products. We are also taking forward a suite of measures to tackle poor payment practices and policies. Through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill we are introducing a reporting requirement for large businesses to report on their payment practices. As part of this work, we are consulting on what, if anything, the Government should do about supplier lists. This could include requiring large companies to report on their use in the new prompt payment report; or potentially prohibiting them.

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: As at 19 November 2014, there are 35 civil servants over 65 years old employed to work for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). We do not centrally hold details of the age of staff in the department's partner organisations, staff working in companies contracted by the department, or other non-payroll staff. As an equal opportunities employer, BIS is committed to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and encouraging diversity amongst its workforce, and meeting its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Act.

Citizens Advice Scotland

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding Citizens Advice Scotland has received from his Department in the last five financial years.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provides funding to Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) – the umbrella organisation and membership body for the Citizens Advice Bureaux network in Scotland. Total funding to CAS over the past five financial years is set out in the table below. Funding has increased substantially since 2011/12 to reflect the additional functions CAS has taken on as a result of the consumer landscape changes, including the joint delivery (with Citizens Advice England and Wales) of the Consumer Service helpline, education and advocacy on general consumer issues and as the advocate on behalf of consumers in the regulated energy and postal sectors.   Financial YearTotal funding 2013/145,614,8002012/136,887,5002011/122,900,0002010/113,518,0002009/103,362,000

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: There are 226 people with a declared disability working in BIS, representing 6% of the total workforce.   In BIS it is not compulsory for individuals to declare any diversity information, although they are strongly encouraged to do so. The information provided above should be taken in this context.   BIS is committed to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and encouraging diversity amongst its workforce, and to treating all staff and eligible job applicants fairly.

Citizens Advice Scotland

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much money Citizens Advice Scotland is due to receive from his Department in the current financial year.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provides funding to Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) – the umbrella organisation and membership body for the Citizens Advice Bureaux network in Scotland. Total funding to CAS in the current financial year is £7,239,700.

Minimum Wage

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many employers who were issued with notices of underpayment for the national minimum wage and were eligible for naming and shaming under the arrangements introduced since 1 October 2013 he has decided not to name and shame.

Jo Swinson: Under the revised Naming Scheme the Government will name all employers that have been issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NoU) unless employers meet one of the exceptional criteria or have arrears of £100 or less.   To date 3 employers have made successful representations against being named and 8 employers have not been named as they had arrears of £100 or less.   The Government has already named 55 employers. Between them they owed workers a total of over £139,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £60,000. We will be naming other employers that do not comply with National Minimum Wage regulations soon.   Anyone not receiving the minimum wage that they are legally entitled to should call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368.

Holiday Leave: Pay

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2014 to Question 216899, what assessment he has made of the negative impact on business and jobs he is seeking to limit.

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2014 to Question 216899, whether the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal of 4 November 2014 in Bear Scotland and Others v Mr David Fulton and Others necessitates changes to the Working Time Regulations.

Jo Swinson: Our preliminary assessment of the impact of the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling suggest that total costs to employers in the UK could be in the region of hundreds of millions of pounds. The Government understands the deep concern felt by many employers about these potential costs. The holiday pay taskforce is discussing ways to limit the judgment’s impact on business. This encompasses both issues relating to back pay and management of future workforce planning. The Government also wishes to ensure that workers receive appropriate reward for their hard work.   Through our discussions with the Taskforce and a wide range of other representative organisations, we are urgently reviewing what actions we should take.

Students: Fees and Charges

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of removing university tuition fees for students studying science, medicine, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Employment Tribunals Service

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many financial penalties have been imposed on respondent employers under section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 to date; and how many such penalties (a) have been paid and (b) remain unpaid.

Jo Swinson: Financial Penalties, as described in section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, commenced on 6 April 2014. None have been imposed so far.

Department for International Development

Liberia

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what reason her Department decided to reduce non-humanitarian funding to Liberia from 2013-14 to 2014-15.

Justine Greening: The UK Government is committed to spending 0.7% of GNI on overseas development. The level of support provided to individual countries is determined by a detailed analysis of development opportunities and where UK taxpayers’ money can be spent most effectively to achieve results and value for money.

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many people with a disability work in her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: There are currently 91 employees who have declared a disability. This represents 2.6% of the workforce.

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many people working in her Department are over 65 years old; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: 182 individuals currently employed by DFID are over 65. This represents 5.2% of the workforce.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID workforce management information, containings detail on consultant, temporary staff and contingent labour, is available on the government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfid-workforce-management-information-public-body/ This includes information from 2010-11 up to and including August 2014. Providing further detail, including the information on individual contracts could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Education

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people with a disability work in her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Gibb: As at 30 November 2014, there were 237 members of staff in the Department for Education who had declared that they had a disability. The Department recently published internally its Diversity and Equality Plan to ensure continuing progress towards developing a highly capable, diverse workforce that represents the communities we serve.

Special Educational Needs

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2014 to Question 211317, what the non-compliance rate was of the scholarship for special educational needs in round (a) two, (b) three and (c) four.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2014 to Question 211317, what training is included in a special educational needs-related course or activity.

Mr Edward Timpson: In Round Two of the National Scholarship Fund, there were 210 unsuccessful special educational needs (SEN) support staff applicants out of 493 applications.   In Round Three of the National Scholarship Fund, there were 23 unsuccessful SEN support staff applicants out of 225 applications.   In Round Four of the National Scholarship Fund, there were 102 unsuccessful SEN support staff applicants out of 188 applications. In addition, there was 21 unsuccessful support staff in Round Four who were members of unsuccessful collaborative groups out of a total of 27 members of collaborative SEN Support Staff groups.   The training included in a special educational needs-related course or activity which has been funded through the National Scholarship Fund is dependent on the course or activity chosen by the scholar.   In the National Scholarship Fund for teachers’ handbook for Round Four, the following criteria are given for eligible activities: Responsibility lies with the Teacher/s to choose the courses or activities that are most suited to their needs; they are responsible for choosing a provider and enrolling with their chosen provider (once notified that their application has been successful). In the case of a lead school on behalf of a collaborative group, every course or activity must be stated.   The only restrictions are that the activity should be related to improving specialist knowledge in the designated priority area of SEND, and that the programme of study will be intellectually rigorous and challenging. In many cases this will be demonstrated by the fact that the activity is at Master’s level or beyond. Some courses and seminars which do not lead to Master’s level credits are also eligible if the applicant provides a robust argument that they provide sufficient intellectual challenge.   In the National Scholarship Fund for SEN support staff handbook for Round Three, the following criteria were given for eligible activities: Support staffs working with children with SEN or a disability are free to choose the course or activity that is most suited to their needs. Similarly, they are free to choose a provider. There are some restrictions, however: 1) The activity should deepen your knowledge of SEN/D and enhance your ability to provide effective support to the teaching and learning of pupils with SEN/D. 2) The programme of study must be at Level 4 or above. 3) An approved non-accredited specialist training course

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people working in her Department are over 65 years old; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Gibb: As at 30 November 2014, there were 12 staff in the Department for Education who were 65 years old and over. The Department recently published internally its Diversity and Equality Plan to ensure continuing progress towards developing a highly capable, diverse workforce that represents the communities we serve.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education’s consultant and contingent labour information is collected and published on a monthly basis and is available at the following link:http://data.gov.uk/dataset/workforce-management-information-department-for-educationThe Department does not hold this information on an annual basis, and compiling this information in the form requested would not be possible in the time available. The link provides management information on staff numbers and payroll costs in the Department, its agencies, Non-Ministerial Departments and Executive Non-Departmental Public Body for the period 31 March 2011 to 27 November 2014. It includes workforce numbers, covering both payroll and non-payroll (contingent labour, including consultants) staff, split between full-time equivalents (FTE) and headcount. Payroll staff numbers are mapped to standard Civil Service grades. We do not hold information on the length of individual contracts of consultants and contingent labour in a readily available form and it would not be possible in the time available to complete an analysis of the data.Temporary employees are those that have a fixed term contract of 12 months or less or are employed on a casual basis. The total number of temporary staff employed in the Department in each of last five years is shown in Table 1 with the grade band breakdown in Table 2.Table 1: Temporary staff employed in the Department 12 months toTemporary staff (headcount)November 201039November 20117November 201211November 201312November 201420Total89 Table 2: Temporary staff by grade band 12 months to Grade BandNumber of Temporary staffNovember 2010EA2EA AO12EO21GRADE 72HEO2Total39November 2011EA AO6EO1Total7November 2012EA AO6EO4GRADE 71Total11November 2013EO12Total12November 2014EO19SEO1Total20Total 89

Nurseries: Admissions

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many nursery places have been available in (a) Bolton, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) England in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: I have asked Ofsted to respond using the data they hold on registered nursery places. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector will write to the Hon. Lady, and a copy of his response will be placed in the House Library. Some providers such as schools with nursery provision for children aged three or over are exempt from registration. The number of places therefore may not include the full range of early years provision available in the area. The Department for Education’s Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects data on all registered childcare places, including those in maintained schools and nurseries. These figures are therefore more comprehensive than the Ofsted figures; however data is only available at a national and regional level. The below link provides published data for 2010, 2011 and 2013 for England and the North West. The survey was not carried out in 2012 and so no figures are available for that year. www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2013

Children's Centres

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which children's centres were judged (a) outstanding, (b) good, (c) requiring improvement and (d) inadequate at their most recent inspection.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This question is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to write to the Hon. Member. Copies of his response will be placed in the House Library.

Teachers: Recruitment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies on teacher recruitment of the Chief Inspector of Schools Annual Report 2014.

Mr David Laws: Provisional data in the Initial Teacher Training Census shows that 94% of targeted initial teacher training (ITT) places were filled in 2014/15. The shortfall will not result in a teacher shortage, since not all newly qualified teacher progress into teaching immediately after training, and schools can recruit teachers from other avenues. The quality of entrants to ITT remains high with 73% of all new postgraduate entrants in 2014/15 holding a 2:1 degree or higher and 17%, a new record, having a first. This confirms that teaching remains an attractive career choice for the best graduates and is recruiting well in a competitive graduate employment market.The Government is already attracting high quality teachers through generous support for trainee teachers but we need more teachers with maths and physics related degrees. The Prime Minister announced on 8 December a range of measures to up-skill 15,000 existing teachers and to recruit up to 2,500 additional specialist maths and physics teachers over the next Parliament. As the Department for Education develops proposals within the STEM teacher supply package, we will consider how they might benefit schools in disadvantaged areas in terms of increasing access and opportunities to get more specialist maths and physics teachers into classrooms.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Boxing

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of offering non-contact boxing programmes to violent offenders.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is aware of the interest in promoting boxing as a prisoner activity and believes that their current policy to prohibit combat sports is correct. A strong case may be made for the potential benefits of a scheme that provides prisoners with a productive activity and a route to employment after release. NOMS recognises the importance of physical education in supporting offenders to deal with their violent behaviour and concentrates its resource on its existing range of sporting activities and support programmes with a clear evidence base already available in prisons that effectively deal with many of the benefits associated with sports of this nature and prisoners reintegrating back into the community. I have decided not to progress this particular proposal in prisons. I am also alive to the risk that a prisoner might use what he learns to inflict violence on other prisoners and staff. I do however fully appreciate the positive impact that being a member of a sports club on release can give. The National Offender Management Service is keen to discuss options for how they can improve links between Boxing England and prisons so that prisoners can benefit upon release.

Furniture

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many desks are in his Department's main building; how many such desks are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; and what the cost is per desk of leasing.

Andrew Selous: As at September 2014 there were 3,235 desks at 102 Petty France, the main MoJ HQ building in London. All desks are owned by the MoJ.

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous: Information on the number of staff who have declared themselves as “disabled” is published within the Ministry of Justice’s diversity report, which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/378112/moj-diversity-data-report-2013-14_.pdf The data within this report is compiled from staff who have updated their personal diversity data to indicate that they consider themselves to have a disability. The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring that equality of opportunity and diversity is a normal part of everyday business, and that its policies are fair and accessible to all.

Procurement

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what contracts his Department has awarded to Just Solutions International in each of the last five years; what the value and length of each such contract is; and with whom in his Department each such contract was signed.

Andrew Selous: No contracts have been awarded to Just Solutions International in each of the last five years.

Crime: Victims

Mr David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to increase the compensation paid by criminals to their victims.

Mike Penning: This Government takes enforcement of compensation orders very seriously and remains determined to find new ways to ensure they are paid and to trace those who do not pay. The Government has recently discussed with the Victims Panel how we might potentially pay compensation to victims up front, rather than victims having to wait for their money.

Minimum Wage

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will increase the maximum magistrates' court fines for non-payment of the national minimum wage.

Mike Penning: Anyone who is a worker is entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage. The Government is cracking down on employers who break the law by not paying the minimum wage. Failure to comply with national minimum wage legislation is punishable in the magistrates’ courts with a fine not exceeding £5,000. Under provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, once commenced, all fines and maximum fines of £5,000 and more will become unlimited. This will give magistrates greater powers to deal with the most serious offenders who come before them, including those who fail to comply with national minimum wage legislation. The Government intends to bring this provision into force as soon as possible.

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff are employed in his Department's headquarter buildings.

Simon Hughes: There are currently 3,839 members of staff employed at the Ministry of Justice who work at the department’s headquarters in London.

Reoffenders

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of crimes committed by ex-prisoners.

Andrew Selous: Despite investment, reoffending rates have remained stubbornly high. We are fundamentally reforming rehabilitation services by opening up the market to new providers and incentivising them to focus relentlessly on reducing reoffending. For the first time in recent history virtually every offender released from custody will receive statutory supervision and rehabilitation in the community. We remain on track to deliver these key reforms by 2015.

Kidnapping: Children

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to respond to the recommendation of the Law Commission that wrongful retention of children should be a criminal offence.

Simon Hughes: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave during the Ministry of Justice Oral Questions session in the House of Commons on Tuesday 16 December 2014, a transcript of which can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/commons/todays-commons-debates/read/unknown/7/

Prisoners' Release: Employment

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what opportunities there are for people in prison to prepare themselves for the job market on release.

Andrew Selous: There are significant opportunities in prison to help prisoners gain employment on release. These include education, vocational training, experience of work and support to deal with barriers to employment such as accommodation or substance addiction. The National Careers Service also operates in prisons in England.

Reoffenders

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce reoffending.

Andrew Selous: Despite investment, reoffending rates remain stubbornly high. We are fundamentally reforming rehabilitation services by opening up the market to new providers and incentivising them to focus relentlessly on reducing reoffending. For the first time in recent history virtually every offender released from custody will receive statutory supervision and rehabilitation in the community. We remain on track to deliver these key reforms by 2015.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to promote early intervention to reduce reoffending by 16 to 18 year olds.

Andrew Selous: Reducing reoffending by young people is a key priority for the Ministry of Justice. We are committed to working across Government on early and preventive interventions, including the Troubled Families programme, the Youth Engagement Fund and the Ending Gangs and Youth Violence programme.

Ministry of Defence

Directors

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of his Department's executive board are (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic background.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of his Department's executive board are disabled.

Michael Fallon: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



The Department does not monitor the gender, disability or ethnic composition of its executive board separately from monitoring the Department as a whole. Even if it did, gender, disability and ethnicity identity is sensitive personal data as defined by section 2 of the Data Protection Act 1998. Given the small numbers involved, we could not disclose the results of such general monitoring without infringing the rights of the individuals concerned.

RAF Akrotiri

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel work on night shifts at RAF Akrotiri; and what catering arrangements are in place for people working such shifts.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

RAF Akrotiri

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average pay is of locally employed catering staff at RAF Akrotiri; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois: All of RAF Akrotiri's locally employed catering staff are employed as part of the Cyprus Multi-Activity Contract, which is held by Sodexo. The Ministry Of Defence does not set the rate of pay which contactors pay their staff. The terms of the contract are commercially sensitive and I am withholding this information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

RAF Akrotiri

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what catering arrangements are made for armed forces personnel at RAF Akrotiri; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Domestic Violence

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what help his Department gives to servicemen and ex-servicemen to reduce levels of domestic violence.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Navy: Drug Seizures

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what quantity of drugs have been seized by the Royal Navy in each of the last five years; and how many people have been jailed as a result of such seizures.

Mr Mark Francois: The Royal Navy is involved in counter narcotics efforts across the globe but primarily in the Caribbean. The table below shows the global narcotics seizures made by the Royal Navy in the last five calendar years.  20102011201220132014Total Quantity of Narcotics seized(in Metric Tonnes)0.511.70.183.93.1 The Royal Navy does not hold information regarding the number of people jailed as a result of such seizures.

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: As of 1 October 2014, the number of civilians working in the Ministry Of Defence and its Trading Funds aged 65 and over was around 1,400.It is the Department's policy to be an all-inclusive employer. Any form of unfair discrimination or harrassment on the grounds of an individual's gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status, age, non-standard working pattern or any other difference is totally unacceptable and therefore not tolerated in the workplace.

Opinion Polls

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much in real terms his Department spent on public opinion polling in each of the last 10 years.

Anna Soubry: The central communications directorate of the Ministry of Defence has spent the following amounts on public opinion polling since March 2012. 2012£55,5002013£49,500Information on any polls conducted on behalf of other constituent parts of the department or the Armed Forces in addition to those above are not included, as this information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Prior to March 2012, polling services were procured through the Central Office of Information. We are unable to identify the costs of those surveys in previous years because of the way the information was recorded. The Department has yet to be charged for the survey that took place in September 2014.

Afghanistan

Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK (a) military personnel and (b) civilians have been (i) killed and (ii) wounded in Afghanistan in the last 13 years.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: To build a world class Civil Service we need to recruit and retain the very best Civil Servants on merit, irrespective of whether they are disabled.As of 1 October 2014, 47.48% (26,340) of staff in the Ministry of Defence and its Trading Funds have chosen to declare their disability status; of these, around 2,515 have made a positive disability declaration. This data is based on the numbers of employees who have chosen individually to record their disability status on the departmental Human Resource (HR) system. Any such declaration is voluntary and confidential.

RAF Menwith Hill

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has been informed of the building of another radome at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill; and what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart and others on this matter.

Mr Mark Francois: The US authorities did formally notify the Ministry of Defence of the proposal to construct a further radome at RAF Menwith Hill. This matter is being handled by officials from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation who recently submitted a planning application to the Local Authority for the new radome on behalf of the US.

USA

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has been informed of the plans for development of (a) USAF Croughton and (b) USAF Barford St John; and what discussions he has had with his US counterpart and others on this matter.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence is aware that the US is considering their future use of bases in the UK, including RAF Croughton and RAF Barford St John, as part of a European wide basing review. We expect the US to announce the outcomes of this review in the near future.

Contracts

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many contracts his Department has held with private military companies in each year since 2008; what the cost of those contracts was; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In 2013-14, for example, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) paid more than 2,700 different contractors. We would need to examine the work of each one to establish whether it could be considered a 'private military company'. The MOD publishes a range of trade, industry and contract statistics, including a list of suppliers who the MOD paid more than £5 million in each financial year. The latest information covering 2013-14 is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/ statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2014.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which vessels will be based at the UK's new naval base in Bahrain.

Mr Mark Francois: The improvement of the existing facilities will support the Ministry of Defence and other Government Department's in the furtherance of British interests in the region. The facilities will be used by Royal Navy vessels specifically assigned to the region and those that pass through as part of other global deployments.

Radar

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the suitability for use by the UK of electronic stabilisation software for the Artisan radar systems.

Anna Soubry: A number of briefings have been provided by BAE Maritime Systems on the Electronic Stabilisation (E-Stab) system. The capabilities and affordability of the system have yet to be demonstrated and sea based trials to gather further evidence are currently being developed.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK service personnel he expects to be stationed on average at any one time in the UK's new naval base in Bahrain.

Mr Mark Francois: As currently planned, on average, 170 Service personnel will be stationed at the new development in Bahrain at any one time.

Trident Submarines

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what potential suppliers to the VANGUARD replacement programme his Department has identified.

Mr Julian Brazier: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



The key suppliers for the Successor submarine programme are BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Babcock and the US Government.These suppliers are responsible for the selection of individual sub-contractors.

Islamic State

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of ISIL's military capabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois: Coalition airstrikes and Iraqi security forces supported by coalition equipment and training are degrading ISIL military capabilities. A number of important towns in the north have been liberated by the Peshmerga, but the scale of the problem remains significant. ISIL retains sufficient military hardware to conduct traditional military operations as well as terrorist activity and they remain a threat to the region, the UK and our interests.

Afghanistan

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military assets he intends to retain in Afghanistan after 31 December 2014.

Mr Mark Francois: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) said in the House on 27 November 2014 (Official Report, columns 1118-1120), the UK's contribution to the NATO Resolute Support Mission will be around 470 personnel. These personnel will remain in Kabul to deliver towards the Train, Advise and Assist function within the Resolute Support Mission. Personnel will be supported by all necessary equipment including an aviation detachment of three Chinook helicopters.

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to fit an aerial refuelling boom system to the Voyager aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: We have no current plans to fit an aerial refuelling boom system to the Voyager aircraft.

Training

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's (a) military and (b) civilian personnel have graduated from the Major Projects Leadership Academy.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the running costs of the UK's naval base in Bahrain in each year to 2020.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when negotiations with the government of Bahrain on the construction of a UK naval base in that country began.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the projected cost of the new UK naval base in Bahrain will be funded by his Department; and from which section of his Department's budget these funds will come.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Status of Forces Agreement between the UK and Bahrain has been amended as a result of the UK naval base in Bahrain.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Work and Pensions

Care Homes: Electrical Safety

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of legislation covering electrical safety in care homes.

Mr Mark Harper: All health and safety legislation was subject to independent review by Professor Ragnar Löfstedt in 2011. As part of the review, Professor Löfstedt was also asked to review comments received through the Government’s Red Tape Challenge on health and safety regulation. There was no specific comment on the adequacy of legislation covering electrical safety in care homes received from either review.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Steve Webb: Spend on consultants, temporary staff and contingent labour over the last 5 years:   2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Consultants£27,554,654£11,267,277£6,507,648£12,650,325£11,662,269Temporary Staff*£22,179,497£2,448,477£1,272,341£19,038,479£6,710,259Contingent Labour£63,155,793£30,277,388£10,913,144£14,459,590£12,995,091 *Temporary Staff includes Casuals and Fixed Term Appointments employed for less than 12 months only. Spend on consultancy, contingent labour and temporary staff reduced in 2011/12 as the Cabinet Office Spend Controls introduced by the coalition government in May 2010 took effect. Whilst these controls are still being applied spend in these areas has since increased in response to the need for specialist external support to meet the demands of DWP major change programmes such as UC and PIP, and in response to business needs for temporary staff mainly in Operations. All requests for the recruitment of temporary staff are subject to recruitment freeze dispensations and are subject to Ministerial approval.  Number of consultants, temporary staff and contingent labour employed, length of contract and equivalent civil service salary: Consultants: Consultants are not engaged on an individual basis. Consultancy services are delivered by a consultancy company which deploys resource according to the requirements of the engagement. Extracting data on the length of engagement of each consultant would be at disproportionate cost. Consultants do not have an equivalent civil service salary band. Temporary Staff:  As at 31 March 2010As at 31 March 2011As at 31 March 2012As at 31 March 2013As at 31 March 2014Band A/AA16943  Band B/AO2,33357360993247Band C/EO922161612Band D/HEO1625132Band E/SEO7Band F/G764 2 Band G/G6   11SCS  212Other/Not Known1Total3,454833711,071254 The above figures are for temporary staff engaged for less than 12 months only. No further breakdown of the length of engagement is available.   As at 31 March 2010As at 31 March 2011As at 31 March 2012As at 31 March 2013As at 31 March 2014Contingent Labour7601388112185 We are unable to extract data on the length of engagement of each contingent labour worker or the equivalent civil service salary band as this would be at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average number of complaints are made annually about delays in processing benefits claims in each Jobcentre Plus area.

Esther McVey: We do not collate information in the format requested.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average time was taken to process all benefits claims made in each Jobcentre Plus area in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available to the level required.

Mesothelioma: Compensation

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the Library calculations of the costs used in his Department's decision to exclude people diagnosed with mesothelioma before 25 July 2012 from compensation from the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme fund.

Mr Mark Harper: A copy of the report will be placed in the Library.

Mesothelioma: Compensation

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2014 to Question 213723, if he will provide support to the applicants to the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme fund who were diagnosed before 25 October 2014 in addition to the support provided to people who were diagnosed after that date.

Mr Mark Harper: The Scheme makes payments to eligible people who were diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma (or eligible dependants of sufferers who have died) on or after 25 July 2012.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to take into account the particular effects of different health conditions in implementation of its welfare reform policies.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effect of his welfare reform policies on people with Addison's disease.

Mr Mark Harper: Eligibility for disability benefits is assessed based on the functional impact of a claimant’s health condition or disability, rather than the condition or disability itself. The Department keeps its disability benefits, including Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independent Payment, and the assessments used to determine eligibility for these under review.

Social Security Benefits

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received (a) housing benefit but not council tax benefit, (b) council tax benefit but not housing benefit and (c) housing benefit and council tax benefit in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Bedfordshire, (iii) Cambridgeshire, (iv) Essex, (v) Hertfordshire, (vi) Norfolk and (vii) England in each year since 2010.

Steve Webb: The information we have up to February 2013, by local authority area within each of the geographies requested, is published and available from Table 1of the publications found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-caseload-statistics--2 Council Tax Benefit (CTB) was replaced in April 2013 by the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme and in England the Department for Communities and Local Government is now responsible for these statistics. The Scottish and Welsh Governments have similar responsibility.

Employment and Support Allowance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimant off-flows with a date of death recorded at the time of benefit off-flow there were in each year since 2010; and of those how many claimants had received a sanction in the six months before their death.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobseeker's allowance claimant off-flows with a date of death recorded at the time of benefit off-flow there were in each year since 2010; and of those how many claimants had received a sanction in the six months before their death.

Esther McVey: This specific information is not collected.

Winter Fuel Payments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps =he is taking to ensure that pensioners become better aware of their right to claim winter fuel allowance.

Steve Webb: In over 95 per cent of cases, people over women’s State Pension age receive a Winter Fuel Payment automatically, and do not need to make a claim since the Department already holds the information necessary to make the payment. However, details of eligibility and how to make a claim are available on www.GOV.uk

Winter Fuel Payments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of eligible pensioners who have not claimed the winter fuel allowance in each year since May 2010.

Steve Webb: We do not hold this information.

Pensions

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) women and (b) men in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland aged 56 years who in each of the last four years have had no pension savings.

Steve Webb: The exact breakdowns that have been requested are not readily available.

Children: Maintenance

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many live Child Support Agency cases with maintenance arrears there is an arrears charging schedule in place; and in how many such cases arrears repayments are being made in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland.

Steve Webb: The table below shows the number of Child Support Agency cases with an arrears liability and the number of those cases paying towards arrears in the quarter ending September 2014:  Number of Cases with an Arrears LiabilityPaying Towards ArrearsScotland105,60019,100England1,026,400199,100Wales73,20014,300Northern Ireland42,700600Other550,5001,400Great Britain1,258,400234,600 Notes1. In January 2012 new methodology was introduced to provide a more accurate view of the number of cases contributing towards arrears. Previously, arrears collected figures included arrears of maintenance that have been linked to an arrears collection schedule. In the new methodology, payments above the current liability are counted as receipts towards arrears.2. The latest Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics contains data up to September 2014. Table 10: Cases Contributing Towards Arrears, shows the number of cases with an arrears liability and also the number of cases paying towards arrears.3. Figures rounded to the nearest 100 and may not sum due to rounding.4. Northern Ireland cases include cases managed by the CSA in Great Britain where the Parent with Care lives in Northern Ireland. This does not include cases managed by the Northern Ireland Child Maintenance Enforcement Division (CMED).5. Cases included in the ‘Other’ category are cases where either the Parent with Care has moved abroad, or where the area of the Parent with Care is Unknown.

Work Programme

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of unemployed people with mental health problems who are currently on the Work Programme.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Funeral Payments

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2014 to Question 216782, what steps his Department is taking to improve the administration process for funeral payments.

Steve Webb: We are currently taking steps to improve the scheme and will continue to monitor its effectiveness so that it continues to meet its aim of providing a contribution towards the cost of a funeral. For example staff are working with the Bereavement Service, the main conduit of initial applications, to ensure where possible they collect all the required evidence and information at the earliest possible juncture, smoothing and improving the process for claimants. On-going improvements such as this ensure claims are dealt with in a timely and consistent manner and are in the best interests of those needing the scheme’s support.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Public Expenditure

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 2.217 in Autumn Statement 2014, how much funding she has allocated to the (a) coastal path and (b) Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in each financial year to 2019-20.

Dan Rogerson: Defra has announced that additional funding of £44,000 in 2014/15 and £5.26million in 2015/16 will be made available to complete the coastal path around England by 2020.   We have confirmed that resource funding for Royal Botanic Gardens Kew will be maintained at the levels in 2013/14 until April 2016. This follows the announcement in September 2014 that an additional £1.5million will be provided in 2014/15, and the announcement today (16 December) that a further £2.3m will be made available for 2015/16.   Departmental budgets for further years will be set at the next Spending Review.

Dangerous Dogs

Mr Michael Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs have been identified as in contravention of Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each of the last five years.

George Eustice: The numbers of dogs in contravention of Section 1 that courts have notified to the Index of Exempted Dogs in each year is as follows:   2009 372 2010 674 2011 649 2012 6492013 700

Foxes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with countryside representatives on the control of foxes by shooting, snaring or hunting.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has had no meetings or discussions with countryside representatives on the control of foxes by shooting, snaring or hunting.

Poultry

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with (a) shooting bodies, (b) the Countryside Alliance, (c) the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and (d) the CLA on the control of geese by shooting.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has had no recent discussions with shooting bodies, the Countryside Alliance, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation or the CLA on the control of geese by shooting.

Forests

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take to tackle global deforestation.

George Eustice: Defra supports action to prevent deforestation and address the drivers of deforestation through our £140 million contribution to the UK’s £3.87 billion International Climate Fund (ICF). Defra ICF investments include support for low-carbon agriculture and action to prevent deforestation in Brazil, and the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund. The ICF as a whole has committed over £500 million to forestry projects.   Defra also supports deforestation-free supply chains. For example, by implementing the EU Timber Regulation which prohibits the placing on the EU market of illegally harvested timber and timber products; through the UK’s Timber Procurement Policy, which requires central government departments and their agencies to source sustainable timber and wood-products; and by working with business towards achieving 100% sourcing of credibly certified sustainable palm oil in the UK.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Dan Rogerson: All staff employed in Core Defra who are not on the payroll are considered to be contingent labour. For reporting purposes, they are separated into consultants and temporary staff. The table below therefore only distinguishes between these two categories.   £m2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14Consultancy21.63.45.27.49.7Temporary Staff8.412.45.34.86.2   We could only obtain detailed information on the numbers of people employed in these ways in each year, and the equivalent civil service grades, at disproportionate cost as this data is not collected centrally.

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions relating to dogs there were for each offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: Centrally held records of prosecutions under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 do not record the species of animal involved.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average cost is for a dog breeder to (a) obtain a licence for the first time and (b) renew an existing licence; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government does not hold records of the average cost of a dog breeder’s licence. However, the fee should represent the cost of administering the licence.

Flood Control

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the total funding for flood protection has been provided through (a) her Department's standard partnership funding framework, (b) private sector contributions and (c) other public sector contributions.

Dan Rogerson: Partnership Funding is on track to bring up to £140 million in external funding over the four years to 2015, compared with £13 million during the previous four years. This is in addition to the £3.2 billion we have invested in Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management over this parliament.   According to an independent evaluation, 25% of contributions to schemes came from the private sector; the remainder from local authorities and other public bodies.

Flood Control

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding for flood protection is planned to be raised through a standard partnership funding framework in each year between 2015-16 and 2020-21.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency expects to attract contributions from other sources of over £600 million, but the exact timing and amount depends on local choices. We are on course to bring in up to £140 million in external funding over the four years to 2015.   Contributions can come from national, local, private or public sources. They supplement our national budget, meaning more can be done to reduce the risks of flooding and coastal erosion across the country.  Partnership funding encourages contributions from those who benefit from reduced risk. Government has introduced a tax deduction for businesses contributing to schemes, encouraging the private sector to contribute to local schemes.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Training

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many awaydays his Department has held for officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date; and what the cost was of each such event.

Kris Hopkins: Under the last Labour Government, DCLG spent £196,585 on “away days” in 2008-09 and £137,678 in 2009-10. We have cut costs to just £272 in 2013 and to zero in 2014. This has resulted in notable savings to taxpayers. A table with details is attached.These significant reductions in spending are a consequence of revised guidance to staff that team away days should take place at no or limited cost; this has included encouraging the use of rooms in the Department or a neighbouring Whitehall Department.This is a significant departure from the expensive practices that took place under the last Administration, which included booking away days in luxury hotels, restaurants and a burlesque club.   



Table of Awaydays
(Word Document, 28.03 KB)

Tobacco

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control; and what representations his Department received on the potential implications of the Declaration before June 2013.

Kris Hopkins: My Department has not undertaken any formal assessment or review, nor am I aware of any representations prior to June 2013. It is for individual councils to determine whether they wish to sign up to such a voluntary, local government-led initiative. Notwithstanding, as stated in the Government’s 2011 Tobacco Control Plan for England, we recognise there may be legitimate operational reasons for local authorities to deal with the tobacco industry, such as action by trading standards to tackle the illicit tobacco trade (which is frequently linked to low-level and large-scale organised crime; costs taxpayers’ money through tax evasion; and makes it easier for children to smoke). Moreover, further to the Government’s recent evidence to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee inquiry on litter (21 October 2014, Reference LIT0093), we believe that councils and the wider public sector, as well as manufacturers and associated trade bodies, need to work together to tackle smoking-related litter – especially given the public smoking ban has increased smoking outside. Councils now have public health responsibilities, but this should not prevent joint working on litter and action to keep our streets clean. In both cases, we would recommend that all dealings are fully transparent.

Local Government: Pay

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on the level of salaries paid to local authority chief executives; what guidance his Department gives to local councils on that matter; what measures are in place to prevent excessive salaries being paid by local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: Holding answer received on 25 November 2014



The Government’s approach to senior pay and reward in local government is set out in the Government’s response to the recent Communities and Local Government Select Committee inquiry into local government chief officers’ remuneration, which is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-report-on-local-government-chief-officers-remuneration

Local Government Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the total and percentage change to the level of rate support grant allocated to each local authority area has been since 2010.

Kris Hopkins: Due to reforms to local government finance and the local retention of business rates, the amounts of Revenue Support Grant are not comparable over this period. There have also been changes to local authorities’ responsibilities, including changes of responsibilities between different tiers of local government.The headline figures for Revenue Support Grant for local authorities are set out in the Local Government Finance report presented to Parliament each year.Of course, every bit of the public sector needs to do its bit to pay off the deficit left by the last Labour Government, including local government which accounts for a quarter of all public spending. Notwithstanding, the table below shows local authority total net current expenditure by year, which gives a broader picture of local authority spending as a whole over this period.Local authority net current expenditure (excluding education) in England (£ billions) 2008-092009-102010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15£70.9 bn£74.7 bn£76.0 bn£75.0 bn£74.8 bn£77.0 bn£78.9 bnNote: Local government spending on education excluded due to the conversion of schools to academies, which has transferred school funding from Local Education Authorities direct to Academies.Sources: Revenue Outturn Summary returns up to 2013-14; Revenue Account Budget returns for 2014-15.

Local Government Finance: Ealing

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the London Borough of Ealing receives annually in total government grant; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: Holding answer received on 05 December 2014



In 2014-15, the London Borough of Ealing is forecast to receive £421 million in government grants, excluding mandatory housing benefits. Including mandatory housing benefits, the forecast is £701 million (source: Revenue Account Budget returns). Total grants (excluding mandatory housing benefits) are forecast to be equivalent to £3,224 per dwelling, which is in the top twenty highest grants to any local authority in England. Ealing residents will also benefit from funding given to the Greater London Authority for its statutory functions (e.g. police, fire, transport, strategic housing and planning). The Greater London Authority is forecast to receive £4.5 billion in government grant, equivalent to a London average of £1,311 per dwelling in 2014-15. Taken together, this is equivalent to £4,535 per dwelling in Ealing. Leaving aside school spending which has changed due to the funding shift from Local Education Authorities to Academies, in 2014-15, Ealing’s net current expenditure excluding education services is forecast to be £541 million (source: Revenue Account Budget returns). This compares with £450 million in 2009-10 (source: Revenue Outturn Summary returns). This represents a 20 per cent increase in cash terms. I am aware that the local council leader is claiming that Ealing’s funding will be cut to £5 million in 2018. Not only is this manifestly untrue given no funding settlement has been determined beyond 2015-16, but the figures above illustrate how council services actually remain well funded. Of course, every bit of the public sector needs to do its bit to pay off the deficit left by the last Labour Government, including local government which accounts for a quarter of all public spending. Yet the claims in some parts of the local government sector about “cuts” are completely over-stated and actually mislead the public.

Private Rented Housing: Construction

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many of the properties built under the Build to Rent scheme to date are (a) affordable, (b) social and (c) market rents.

Brandon Lewis: As has been explained to the hon. Member in the answer to her identical question of 8 January 2014, Official Report, Column 257W, the Build to Rent fund is providing development finance to help support new homes in the private rented sector at market rent.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many permanent Traveller sites have been created since May 2010.

Brandon Lewis: In July 2014, the most recent month for which a figure is available, there were an estimated 9,313 private caravans on authorised sites with permanent planning permission in England. This compares with an estimated 7,182 private caravans on authorised sites with permanent planning permission in England in July 2011. This is the earliest month for which a national figure is available. National and local authority data on the number of private caravans on authorised sites with permanent planning permission in England are published and are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/traveller-caravan-countThe total number of caravans on authorised sites has risen from 14,498 in July 2010 to 16,771 in July 2014. This shows our locally-led approach is working, with the abolition of top-down regional targets, the revocation of politically correct planning guidance, increased protection of the Green Belt and new powers for councils to tackle unauthorised sites.

Housing: Fires

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the annual number of domestic fires in England caused by (a) electrical misuse and (b) domestic electrical distribution faults.

Penny Mordaunt: The Incident Recording System records information about every incident attended by Fire and Rescue Services.There were 28,034 accidental dwelling fires attended by Fire and Rescue Services in England during 2013/14.In 7,254 cases, the power source involved in the ignition was reported to have been electricity and the main cause deemed to have been misuse of electrical equipment or appliance. Of these, 1,387 were through negligent use of electrical equipment or appliances, and the remaining 5,867 related to cooking using electrical appliances (excluding chip pans and deep fat fryers).In 2,482 cases, the cause of ignition was reported to have been electricity supply, involving wiring, cabling or plugs.Note that 2013/14 figures are provisional, and are likely to be slight undercounts as one Service was unable to supply a complete set of records.The Department’s Fire Kills campaign promotes electrical fire safety messages to all households in close partnership with Electrical Safety First. The key mechanism for promoting these messages is Electrical Fire Safety Week, which ran from 10 to 16 November.

Change of Use

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether homes converted from office space as a result of the B1(a) to C3 permitted development right conferred by section J.1 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2013 (S.I., 2013, No. 1101) are subject to building regulations.

Brandon Lewis: The permitted development rights to allow the change of offices to residential use were introduced in May 2013. These rights are contributing to a more efficient use of our existing building stock, and are providing badly needed new homes such as studios and one-bedroom flats for young people. This is especially true in London where there is a particularly acute need for more housing. In turn, bringing new residents to the local area also brings business and helps generate growth.Planning and building regulations are two separate processes. This policy does not affect the need for all the usual necessary building regulations approvals, including fire safety, sound insulation and energy efficiency. The new dwellings would also be subject to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System regulations on space and crowding.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to Answer Question 205289 tabled on 11 July 2014.

Kris Hopkins: PQ 205289 has been answered today.

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: The Department had a total of 16 employees aged 65 and above as of 30 November 2014.

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: As of 30 November 2014, 77 of the Department's employees had declared themselves as being disabled. This accounts for 5.5% of the Department's workforce based on the Office of National Statistics headcount definition.

Private Rented Housing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate (a) how many and (b) what proportion of tenants in the private rented sector have (i) asked for and (ii) been granted the model agreement for a shorthold assured tenancy since that model agreement was published by the Government.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



This information is not centrally held.

Private Rented Housing

Mr Nick Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to publish (a) his Department's conclusions on the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector and (b) the summary of the views expressed in response to that consultation.

Brandon Lewis: The Department published a discussion document earlier this year, Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector, which invited views on what more could be done to improve property conditions and tackle rogue landlords. An announcement on the outcome of the consultation will be made in the New Year.

Local Government: West Midlands

Sir Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the consequences will be for (a) Worcestershire County Council, (b) the Worcestershire LEP and (c) the district councils of South Worcestershire of the full implementation of the recommendations of the review by Sir Bob Kerslake of the governance and organisational capabilities of Birmingham City Council.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's announcement on 30 January 2014 of a review into how more social homes can be built, when he plans to publish that review.

Brandon Lewis: The report into the review of the role of local authorities in housing supply will be published in the New Year. A progress update was published in July: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-local-authorities-role-in-housing-supply-progress-update

New Towns

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many expressions of interest in response to the Locally-led Garden Cities Prospectus had been (a) received and (b) considered as of 10 December 2014.

Brandon Lewis: Following the publication of our locally-led Garden Cities prospectus in April we have been in discussions with a number of local authorities, developers and consultants interested in bringing forward proposals for new locally-led garden cities. The announcement of Bicester as a new Garden Town at Autumn Statement reflects the fact that Cherwell District Council's plans for Bicester are well advanced, and in a position to benefit from Government support. Discussions with other places interested in bringing forward large scale housing developments are ongoing through the large sites programme.It would not be in the public interest to release information that could undermine the ongoing local negotiations and policy development. But we will make further announcements on our locally-led large scale sites programme in due course.

Private Rented Housing

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with the Local Government Association on improving standards of (a) electrical and (b) gas safety in the private rented sector and on preventing fires caused by either energy source in that sector.

Brandon Lewis: We regularly discuss a range of issues with the Local Government Association, including those relating to property standards and fire prevention in the private rented sector.

Private Rented Housing: Alarms

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2014 to Question 207598, when he will publish the response to the consultation on requirements for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the private rented sector.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government: Motor Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on employee car travel policy.

Kris Hopkins: Employment matters are ultimately a matter for councils as individual employers to determine.Notwithstanding, in my Department’s best practice document, 50 ways to save, we observed how councils could save money by cutting mileage allowances back to the HMRC Approved Mileage rates, and revising terms and conditions where some employees could claim up to 25p per mile more than the HMRC rate. This is best practice followed by my own Department.

Scotland Office

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff; all staff that join, do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice. Both of these bodies and other employers of Scotland Office staff hold information relating to the diversity of staff.

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff; all staff that join, do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice. Both of these bodies and other employers of Scotland Office staff hold information relating to the diversity of staff.

HM Treasury

Income Tax: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how adjustments to the Scottish block grant will be calculated following implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax.

Danny Alexander: The Government has agreed a block grant adjustment mechanism through the operation of the Barnett formula with the Scottish Government in relation to the Scottish rate of income tax.   During two or three transitional years, the deduction will reflect the tax generated by a Scottish rate of 10p. Following this transitional period, the first year deduction will again reflect the tax generated by a Scottish rate of 10p, and then in subsequent years this deduction will be indexed against growth in the UK non-savings non-dividend income tax base.   The Scottish Government’s overall funding will therefore be partly determined by the relative growth in the Scottish and UK non-savings non-dividend income tax base.

Infrastructure: Greater London

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of current levels of investment in London's infrastructure; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The National Infrastructure Plan sets out how the UK’s future infrastructure needs in each sector will be met through a mixture of public and private investment. It shows that annual average infrastructure investment in the UK is now 15 percent higher in this parliament than it was in the previous parliament.   The National Infrastructure Plan is underpinned by an infrastructure pipeline setting out £466 billion of planned investment to 2020 and beyond. Of this, £40.6 billion is specifically regionalised to London. This does not include UK-wide projects or programmes which will have a transformative effect in individual regions in England including London.   Across both the public and private sector, the need for investment in specific projects or programmes will be assessed through individual business cases. For example, Transport for London is the public body with standalone responsibility for the majority of transport services in London.

Non-domestic Rates: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much in non-domestic rates has been collected by the Exchequer in Wales in each of the last five years.

Danny Alexander: In each of the last five years, the Exchequer has collected non-domestic rates in Wales as set out in the table below.   2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15Outturn (£m)Forecast (£m)8969701,0031,0201,041   The information in the table provided was collated and calculated from a number of different sources.

Public Expenditure

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Barnett consequentials arise from the measures announced in the Autumn Statement on 3 December 2014.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his announcement of 8 December of an additional £50 million to promote grass-roots football, what the Barnett consequentials will be for Wales.

Danny Alexander: As a result of announcements made at Autumn Statement 2014, following the application of the Barnett Formula to new spending allocated to UK Governments, the Devolved Administrations will receive additional allocations through to 2015-16. The figures can be found in the Territorial Offices’ Autumn Statement press releases, which are available here:   https://www.gov.uk/government/news/scotland-benefits-from-autumn-statement   https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stephen-crabb-the-autumn-statement-delivers-for-wales   https://www.gov.uk/government/news/autumn-statement-2014-securing-a-stronger-economy-for-northern-ireland   Details of the Chancellor’s grassroots football announcement can be found here:   https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-opens-200-million-manchester-city-football-academy The Barnett Consequentials for 2015-16 outlined in the press releases above include the funding for grassroots football facilities.

Furniture

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many desks are in his Department's main building; how many such desks are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; and what the cost is per desk of leasing.

Andrea Leadsom: There are 2541 desks in 1 Horse Guards Road, of which HM Treasury occupies 1198 desks. The other 1343 are occupied by other Government Departments. All the desks are owned by the Department.

Infrastructure

Richard Burden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the £25 million Government contribution announced in the National Infrastructure Plan to support innovation in manufacturing of ultra-low emission vehicles in the UK between 2017-18 and 2019-20 (a) forms part of the previously announced £500 million investment in ultra-low emission vehicles for 2015-20 or (b) is additional spending.

Danny Alexander: I can confirm that the National Infrastructure Plan announcement is for £25 million of new spending on innovation in ULEV manufacturing – it is in addition to the £500 million previously announced.   The Government has previously committed to provide £100 million for ULEV manufacturing innovation between 2015-20 – and so the new spending represents a 25 per cent increase.

Infrastructure

Mr David Davis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in (a) England, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (c) Haltemprice and Howden constituency likely to arise from the measures in the National Infrastructure Plan.

Danny Alexander: The government’s commitment to infrastructure investment is a key element of its Long-Term Economic Plan, driving jobs and growth. The National Infrastructure Plan is underpinned by an infrastructure pipeline setting out £466 billion of planned public and private investment to 2020 and beyond. The government does not hold data on the exact number of jobs associated with infrastructure projects across the country, many of which will be delivered by the private sector. However, government analysis based on ONS data suggests that infrastructure investment could directly support 5,000 construction jobs for every £1bn spent, as well as many more indirect jobs.

Infrastructure

Richard Burden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the (a) £15 million Government announced in the National Infrastructure Plan for a national network of charge points on the strategic road network between 2015 and 2021 and (b) three funds for ultra-low emission taxis, buses and cities totalling £85 million in the UK (i) forms part of the £500 million investment in ultra-low emission vehicles for 2015-20 or (ii) is additional spending.

Danny Alexander: The £15 million funding for a national network of chargepoints is part of the Roads Investment Strategy, published by Department for Transport on 1 December 2014. This funding was provided to Department for Transport at Spending Round 2013. This funding is additional to the £500 million investment in ULEVs.   The National Infrastructure Plan announced that further details of the three funds will be published by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles. These schemes form part of the £500 million already allocated to ULEVs between 2015-16 and 2019-20.

Mortgages

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will instruct the Financial Conduct Authority to take further steps to encourage mortgage providers to make mortgage cost information provided to customers more transparent.

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on banks' policies of transferring the costs incurred when switching mortgages to the customer.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has asked the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) to work with Which? to improve the transparency of mortgage fees, including switching costs, and make it easier for borrowers to choose the best mortgage deals.   The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also considering whether there is more that can be done in this area to support good decision-making by consumers.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made in pursuing firms which use schemes to evade stamp duty land tax.

Mr David Gauke: In light of evidence that Stamp Duty Land Tax avoidance schemes were being widely marketed to businesses and to the public, the Government has taken clear and robust action. This can be seen in a twin approach to driving down SDLT avoidance – legislation to put beyond doubt that these schemes do not work, and wider measures which remove the advantage of delaying payment that those who seek to avoid tax gain over the great majority who pay the right amount at the right time. As a result of this Government’s intervention, SDLT avoidance schemes have largely disappeared and the number of individuals using such schemes has reduced by over 90%.   In 2013, the Government introduced legislation which makes it clear that the SDLT schemes being sold did not work. It also passed legislation which worked retrospectively, requiring users of the most popularly sold schemes to immediately amend their tax returns. This legislation applied to those who had still chosen to enter into schemes despite the Chancellor’s warning against the continuing use of SDLT avoidance in his budget speech of March 2012.   HMRC has consistently challenged the use of these schemes and does not believe that any of them actually achieves its aim of reducing the liability to SDLT. This view has been tested in a number of recent court hearings and HMRC has been successful in every case so far.   To further strengthen the anti-avoidance effort, the Government has introduced additional measures which make it harder for users of tax avoidance to delay paying what is due. From 2014, anyone who has used a scheme where a similar case has already been settled in the courts will be required to accept that ruling or face additional penalties on top of the tax and interest owing. And users of disclosable schemes where there is no such court decision will be expected to pay in advance the amount of tax that they are seeking to avoid while they await a final decision.

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to pages 132 and 137 of the National Infrastructure Plan 2014, for what reasons none of the communications Top 40 priority investments were rated as innovative or novel and could improve future delivery or enabling significant private sector investment.

Danny Alexander: The Government sets out its Top 40 priority infrastructure investments, to support the delivery of its objectives in each sector.   The selection criteria published in the National Infrastructure Plan 2014 are considered the most relevant for the four communications investments listed and are significant enough to merit the inclusion of these investments within the Top 40. In some cases the projects and programmes are expected to have wider benefits which mean they also deliver against other criteria, such as unlocking private investment.

State Retirement Pensions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what options will be available for people to purchase additional National Insurance Contributions on a phased basis over a period of years in order to qualify for the new state pension.

Mr David Gauke: The time limits for paying voluntary contributions for those who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, the date when the new State Pension is introduced, have been extended. Those with non-qualifying years from 2006-07 to 2015-16 have until 5 April 2023 to pay voluntary contributions. However, if they are paid after 6 April 2019 they will be charged at a higher rate. A person can pay voluntary contributions in a lump sum or can spread the payment over a period of time subject to the time limits and higher rate provisions that may apply.

Unpaid Taxes

Shabana Mahmood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.5 of the HM Revenue and Customs' summary of responses to the consultation on Direct Recovery of Debts, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of guaranteeing that every debtor will receive a face-to-face visit in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.

Mr David Gauke: Direct Recovery of Debts (DRD) is expected to affect around 17,000 debtors each year.   HMRC has a well-established process for making face-to-face visits to debtors who do not pay what they owe. In 2013-14, HMRC’s Field Force agents made around 900,000 visits to debtors.   Some of those who will be considered for DRD would receive a visit from a Field Force officer in the course of normal debt enforcement. Once DRD begins operation, these visits will provide a further opportunity for HMRC to: personally identify the taxpayer and confirm it is their debtexplain to debtors what they owe, why they are being pursued for payment, and discuss payment of the debtdiscuss options to resolve the debt, including offering a Time to Pay arrangement to the debtor, where appropriateidentify debtors who are in a vulnerable position and offer them the support they need to settle their debts. HMRC anticipates that it will absorb the operational cost of DRD visits within its current funding envelope, £800,000 for the systems changes that will underpin the delivery of this measure.

Taxation: Multinational Companies

Shabana Mahmood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received on proposals for a diverted profits tax.

Shabana Mahmood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had on the diverted profits tax with representatives of business (a) before and (b) after 1 October 2014.

Mr David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with, and receive representations from, a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the usual policy making process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such representations.   Draft legislation for the Diverted Profits Tax was published on 10 December for technical consultation, until 4 February 2015. The measure will be effective from 1 April 2015.

Tax Avoidance

Shabana Mahmood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.251 of the Autumn Statement 2014, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to reform legislation relating to umbrella companies.

Mr David Gauke: Detail on our proposals can be found at paragraph 2.147 of the Autumn Statement 2014.

National Savings Bonds: Older People

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, prior to allocating funding for the new savings bond for senior citizens announced in the Autumn Statement, what assessment he made of likely demand for the new bond.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has allocated £10bn of inflows to the new savings Bonds for the 65 and over. They will pay a market leading rate, and there will be an investment limit of £10,000 per bond per person. That allows for one million bonds.

Revenue and Customs

Jessica Morden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average response time was to calls to HM Revenue and Customs PAYE and Self Assessment helplines in the last six months for which figures are available; what the longest response time was; how many calls were recorded as abandoned; and how many complaints about response times for those helplines were made in that period.

Mr David Gauke: The data on our helpline performance is published quarterly and can be found here, the latest being up to the end of September 2014:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-plan-indicators   For the same period ie April – September 2014, there were 216 complaints about a delay in getting a response on the PAYE/SA helplines.

Taxation

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was raised per head in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland from (i) income taxes, (ii) taxes on property and (iii) the transaction of shares in each of the last four years.

Mr David Gauke: (i) Estimates of the number of taxpayers and their income tax liabilities for the UK as a whole and for each constituent country are shown in the table attached. (Table one)  This is a summary of information published in HMRC’s National Statistics table 3.11. These estimates are compiled from the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI). The latest year available is 2011-12, please note that the SPI for 2008-09 has not been published.  The years 2010-11 and 2011-12 are available from the following internet address  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-tax-by-gender-region-and-country-2010-to-2011 Estimates for 2009-10 and earlier years are published in the National Archive at the following internet address;http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121102223513/http:/hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu-by-year.htm Estimates of the numbers of individuals in the UK and each constituent country for the years corresponding with the table 1 are shown in the table attached. (Table 2) This summary is compiled from information published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in tables A1-1 to A1-7 which are published at the following internet address from which other years are available. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?pageSize=50&sortBy=none&sortDirection=none&newquery=Table+A1-1  These estimates are at the mid-year point in time and are not directly comparable to HMRC published figures that represent all taxpayers across a full tax year.  (ii) Estimates can be made of the average SDLT paid per head each year by comparing HMRC published tax receipts with ONS published population estimates. (iii) Stamp tax on shares is payable on the transfer of a liable security, and is usually paid automatically by the CREST electronic securities exchange system. The disaggregation between countries is based on companies’ registered locations, and not the location of their main activities or the location of the purchaser of the share (which is not known). For example the tax on the purchase of a share in an oil company with its main base of operation in Aberdeen but with its head office in London would count towards England’s receipts. Estimates can be made of the average Stamp tax on shares paid per head each year by comparing HMRC published tax receipts with ONS published population estimates. HMRC’s publication ‘Disaggregation of HMRC tax receipts’ can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/disaggregation-of-hmrc-tax-receipts 



Tables
(Word Document, 13.27 KB)

Trusts

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the total value of trusts established to protect beneficiaries of inherited wealth.

Mr David Gauke: The majority of trusts are non-taxpaying and therefore are not required to submit a tax return. Consequently, HMRC does not have enough data to be able to estimate the total number of trusts established to protect beneficiaries of inherited wealth.   The number of UK Family Trusts and estates which are required to complete a full Self-Assessment return has remained broadly steady at 163,000 in 2011-12. Being able to protect family assets, providing for vulnerable beneficiaries and passing assets on to children and grandchildren are the main reasons for creating a trust.   Approximately 1000 trusts pay ten year anniversary and exit charges each year and the IHT HMRC receives from these trusts averages out at approximately £65 million per annum. The average value of assets held in trusts paying ten year anniversary and exit charges is approximately £2 million.

Older People: Assets

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his most recent estimate is of the number of people of pensionable age in possession of assets exceeding (a) £1 million and (b) £2 million in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland.

Mr David Gauke: The HMRC Personal Wealth Statistics for 2008-10 estimates the number of UK individuals aged 65 or over in the identified wealth population (i.e. wealth owned by estates represented by those passing through probate) with assets over £1 million to be 106,000, of which 30,000 have assets over £2 million. This is published in the HMRC National Statistics table 13.3 available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270429/table_13-3.pdf A breakdown of these figures at a sub-UK level is not available.   Alternative estimates based on the Office for National Statistics' Wealth and Assets Survey are not directly comparable with the HMRC Personal Wealth Statistics, as they are (i) based on households rather than individuals, (ii) use a different definition of wealth which, for example, includes the value of private pension funds[1]. Table 2.14 of Wealth in Great Britain Wave 3 (2010-12) shows that 11% of UK individuals aged 65 or over live in households where household total wealth is at least £1 million. This Table is available here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/was/wealth-in-great-britain-wave-3/2010-2012/report--chapter-2--total-wealth.html#tab-Household-total-wealth-by-individual-characteristics Figures for the proportion of individuals in households with total wealth of at least £2 million are not published by the Office for National Statistics, nor are these figures at a sub-UK level. Further information on Wealth in Great Britain can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/was/wealth-in-great-britain-wave-3/2010-2012/index.html  [1] In the Wealth and Assets Survey, total wealth of a household is a net wealth measure for each household created by adding together the different types of household wealth; property wealth (net), financial wealth (net), physical wealth and private pension wealth. It should be noted that it does not include business assets, accrued rights to state pensions or assets held in Trusts.

Stamp Duties

Hilary Benn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the likely effects of stamp duty reform on (a) house prices and (b) housing supply.

Mr David Gauke: The reform to Stamp Duty Land Tax on residential properties will have a limited impact on house prices overall, though this effect will be small compared to overall fluctuations in house prices. The reform is not expected to have a significant direct effect on housing supply.

Income Tax: Medway

Rehman Chishti: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Medway and (b) Gillingham and Rainham constituency are paying less income tax in 2014-15 than they paid in 2009-10.

Mr David Gauke: By 5th April 2015, this Government's increases in the personal allowance (for those born after 5 April 1948), is estimated to reduce the income tax liability of 26.1milion individuals. Of these, 3.67 million live in the South East region, this includes the unitary authority of Medway and the Parliamentary Constituency of Gillingham and Rainham.   These estimates are based on the 2011-12 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2014-15 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.   HM Treasury does not publish this information at constituency level.

Excise Duties: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households in (a) Kent, (b) Medway and (c) Gillingham and Rainham constituency have been affected by the freezing of fuel duty.

Priti Patel: Since 2011, the Government has taken action on fuel duty to support motorists, by abolishing the previous government’s fuel duty escalator, cutting fuel duty by 1 penny per litre in March 2011, and scrapping four planned increases over the parliament. The number of privately owned cars registered in the named constituencies to benefit from these actions are as follows:   Kent: 711,226Medway: 120,806Gillingham and Rainham constituency: 44,429  The Government does not hold information relating to the addresses of registered keepers, and therefore cannot provide data broken down by household.

Non-domestic Rates

Hilary Benn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.161 of the Autumn Statement 2014, when the Government plans to (a) publish the terms of reference for and (b) launch the review of the future structure of business rates.

Mr David Gauke: At Autumn Statement 2014, the government announced it will conduct a review of the future structure of business rates to report by Budget 2016. The review will be fiscally neutral and consistent with the government’s agreed financing of local authorities. The government will publish terms of reference in due course.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Margaret Curran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he intends to respond to Question 213722 tabled on 6 November 2014.

Danny Alexander: I have done so.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Solar Power

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when he plans to publish draft legislation following the Government's response to the consultation on changes to financial support for solar PV.

Amber Rudd: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to lay draft regulations for the early closure of the Renewables Obligation to large solar PV before Parliament early in the new year. An illustrative draft was published alongside the Government Response and is available on the government website:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pvThe amendments to the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) were laid in October and are due to come into effect by 1st January 2015. The Government has finished consulting on a further question arising from that consultation (defining what is meant by “other-than-standalone”) and the Secretary of State expects to lay a further amendment to the FITS Order and necessary modifications to the licence conditions early in the new year.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Mr Mike Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether he has made an estimate of the public expenditure which has been incurred by (a) the Government, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, (b) local authorities, (c) local enterprise companies and (d) charities to support the development and consenting of offshore wind projects which will not now be supported under the contracts for difference regime.

Matthew Hancock: National Grid, as the Electricity Market Reform Delivery Body, are currently running the first Contract for Difference allocation round. Under the strictures of the process my Department does not know, at this point of time, information about individual applications, numbers of applications or numbers that have qualified. As a result the Department is unaware of any offshore wind projects that will not be supported by contracts for difference under our Electricity Market Reform project. In addition, any unsuccessful applicant, should there be any, would have the opportunity to apply for support in future rounds.Furthermore, the Department has not made an estimate of the public expenditure which has been incurred by (a) the Government, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, (b) local authorities, (c) local enterprise companies and (d) charities to support the development and consenting of offshore wind projects.

Fracking: Scotland

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the Smith Commission's recommendations to devolve shale gas mineral access rights to Scotland.

Matthew Hancock: The UK Government has welcomed the Smith Commission Agreement and has committed to delivering draft clauses by 25 January 2015.The Department will now prepare draft clauses in order that the Agreement can be implemented. It is worth noting that most of the powers needed to make Scottish decisions on Shale are already devolved to Holyrood, Including all decisions on whether or not to grant planning and permitting consent for shale development.

Fracking: Scotland

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the Smith Commission's recommendations to devolve the licensing of fracking companies to Scotland.

Matthew Hancock: The UK Government has welcomed the Smith Commission Agreement and has committed to delivering draft clauses by 25 January 2015. That was the clear commitment made to people during the referendum.The Department will now prepare draft clauses in order that the Agreement can be implemented, but most of the powers needed to make Scottish decisions on Shale are already devolved to Holyrood, including all decisions on whether or not to grant planning and permitting consent for shale development.

Furniture

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many desks are in his Department's main building; how many such desks are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; and what the cost is per desk of leasing.

Amber Rudd: The Department’s main building at 3 Whitehall Place / 55 Whitehall has a total of 1206 desks. All of these desks are owned by the Department and none are leased.

Energy

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate he has made of the level of the UK's surplus energy (a) generation and (b) storage capacity; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: During the winter I assess the levels of energy generation and storage capacity on a weekly basis. This week we were expecting to have between 11 and 12GW of spare electricity generating capacity and our gas storage started the week at over 90% full. I will reassess the levels of both next week.A further 1.1GW of electricity generating capacity has been procured by National Grid for the Winter of 2014/15 that can be relied upon when we need it, in order to help us comfortably meet Reliability Standards that have been previously set. This consists of keeping otherwise mothballed or closed plant in reserve and a small amount of voluntary electricity demand reduction by large energy users. More widely, we have undertaken extensive assessments of the levels of gas storage available to the UK market and published the results of that very detailed work in September 2013: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236757/DECC_FI_Final_report_09072013.pdf. The overall conclusion of this assessment was that intervention in the gas storage market was not desirable.

Housing: Lighting

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to encourage the use of LED lighting in domestic properties.

Amber Rudd: Energy Efficient Luminaires were introduced into the domestic Green Deal Assessment Software on 7 December 2014 allowing an assessor to recommend low energy lighting to consumers to improve the overall efficiency of their home. This means that Energy Efficient Luminaires can appear on a Green Deal Advice Report, which can be used to take forward a Green Deal Finance Plan. Energy Efficient Luminaires are complete light fittings which must be fixed to the dwelling and that can only take low energy lamps (e.g. such as LEDs).

South West

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will estimate how much his Department spent has spent in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in each year since 2007-08.

Amber Rudd: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



The Department’s electronic record system does not categorise expenditure by area. To provide this information would therefore require a manual trawl of all payments made between 2007-08 and 2014-15, which could only be provided at disproportionate cost.The Department publishes monthly information on all payments over £500. This information can be found at the following website:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/departmental-spend-over-500.

Fracking: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on (a) its policy on the extraction of shale gas and (b) the recommendation in the Smith Commission Report to devolve shale gas mineral access rights to the Scottish Parliament.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



DECC Ministers meet regularly with the Scottish Government to discuss a range of issues. As has been the case with successive administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Green Deal Scheme

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans he has put in place to ensure that there are sufficient funds to support all successful applications to the Home Improvement Fund from 10 December 2014.

Amber Rudd: On 10 December 2014 applications opened for the second release of funds under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. Up to £30 million in vouchers have been made available in this release. The £30 million is split into two categories: - up to £24 million for solid wall insulation; and - up to £6 million for two measures from a list of home improvements available under the scheme. The first category is now fully committed and no more applications will be taken for it, ensuring that there are sufficient funds to support all successful applications. The second category remains open, using an automated stop to prevent vouchers being issued once the funding has been committed. A further release of funds under the scheme is expected in February.

Power Stations

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate his Department has made of the Cost of New Entry, represented as £/MHh for (a) 800MW OCGT, (b) 800MW CCGT, (c) gas plant sub-20MW and (d) oil plant sub-20MW.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



DECC’s publishes estimates for the levelised costs of electricity generation for different technologies. The most recent £/MWh estimates are available in the DECC Electricity Generation Costs (December 2013) report, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/269888/131217_Electricity_Generation_costs_report_December_2013_Final.pdfTable 1 below is taken from this report, and shows the central levelised cost estimate for representative CCGT and OCGT plants commissioning in 2016. Estimates are not published for sub 20-MW gas plants or oil plants.Table 1: Levelised cost estimates for CCGT and OCGT technologies, technology specific hurdle rates£/MWh£2012CCGT (gas) *OCGT (gas) *Projects commissioning in 201677169* CCGT: Combined Cycle Gas Turbine, OCGT: Open Cycle Gas Turbine It should be noted that updated cost input assumptions for the range of CCGT and OCGT costs are provided in a Coal and Gas Assumptions report by Parsons Brinkerhoff commissioned by DECC (March 2014). This is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315717/coal_and_gas_assumptions.PDFThe levelised cost of a particular generation technology is the ratio of the total costs of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant’s lifetime (per megawatt hour). Levelised cost estimates are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, discount rate and other drivers and this means that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates.

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many staff are employed in his Department's headquarter buildings.

Amber Rudd: As of 30 November 2014 there were 1,441 civil servants working the Department of Energy & Climate Change headquarter buildings in London. There were also 102 civil servants working in its Aberdeen building.

Cabinet Office

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Mr Francis Maude: This Government's tough spending controls have helped ensure substantial reductions in central Government spend on consultancy and contingent labour. Our 2013/14 spend was an astonishing 57% lower than spend in 2009/10 in the last year of the previous Government.Since the 2010 General Election, all use of contractors, consultants and temporary interims in my department has to be approved centrally. This was not the case under previous administrations.Information on temporary staff and contingent labour expenditure for 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-to-2011.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014.

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Francis Maude: There are currently 11 Cabinet Office employees who are over 65 years old.More information about the diversity of the workforce in the Cabinet Office, including employees who have declared a disability, is published athttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office/about/equality-and-diversityCabinet Office does not compel staff to declare against workforce diversity indicators, including disability.

Average Earnings

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the annual percentage change in median gross weekly earnings was for (a) full-time employees who were in (i) continuous and (ii) discontinuous employment from one year to the next and (b) full-time employees aged 30 to 50 who were in (i) continuous and (ii) discontinuous employment from one year to the next in each year since 2005.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Median Gross Weekly Earning
(PDF Document, 216.07 KB)

Electronic Government: Conferences

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the budget was for the D5 London 2014: leading digital governments conference; and how the invitees to this conference were identified.

Mr Francis Maude: The D5 London 2014: Leading Digital Governments Conference met at Idea London and Digital Catapult to discuss how to promote economic growth through open markets, teaching children to code, improving connectivity, and ideas for future collaborative projects. A trade event was hosted at Buckingham Palace by HRH the Duke of York which included the following leading British SMEs:· Code Kingdoms· Crowd Emotion· Funding Circle· Hypercat· Kano· Relative Insight· Skyscape Cloud Services· Therapy Box· YoyoFounding members met criteria including on their expertise in teaching children coding, commitment to support all citizens to access digital services, and commitment to open standards, open markets and open source. Each member must also be a member of the Open Government Partnership.  In addition representatives from the United States and Mexico attended.  Details of costs will be published in due course.

Tickets: Fraud

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many reports of ticket fraud have been made to Action Fraud in the last full year for which figures are available; and how many such reports related to tickets purchased through legitimate secondary ticketing platforms.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Ticket Fraud
(PDF Document, 96.86 KB)

Government Departments: Internet

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) least and (b) most visited Government website was in each of the last three years; and how many times each such website was visited.

Mr Francis Maude: GOV.UK is designed to make dealing with government simpler, clearer and faster. Information on the performance of GOV.UK, including activity, is published at: https://www.gov.uk/performance

Government Departments: Meetings

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2014 to Question 217639, on Government departments: meetings, for what reasons the Government has decided not to publish those details.

Mr Rob Wilson: This government has pursued an ambitious transparency agenda and has released more information and data than any before it. As part of this, Government publishes details of who Ministers are meeting. However there is an appropriate balance to strike and there is nothing to add to the answers of 2, 5 and 8 December 2014.

Procurement

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the amount his Department has spent on public procurement which has reached small and medium-sized firms through its supply chains in each region.

Mr Francis Maude: Information on government suppliers within a specific constituency or region is not held centrally.Figures provided by major suppliers indicate that for 2012-13 SMEs benefitted by £4bn through the supply chain. Figures for 2013-14 will be published in due course.A new version of Contracts Finder will be available in due course. This will allow users to search by region and by postcode.

Christmas

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on decorations, hospitality or refreshments for Christmas activities in 2014.

Mr Francis Maude: Refreshments for Christmas celebrations were funded by ministers and/or officials - and were not at taxpayers' expense. The Cabinet Office has paid £80.50 for decorations and a central Christmas tree in the main building of 70 Whitehall. Cabinet Office also contributed towards the cost of the Christmas tree for the building it shares with HM Treasury. In addition, my office purchased at personal expense a discounted Christmas tree from Argos.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Rugby: Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Rugby Football Union on Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland jointly hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Mrs Helen Grant: There have been no discussions with the Rugby Football Union about Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland bidding to jointly host the 2023 Rugby World Cup. England will host the Rugby World Cup next year and I am sure that the RFU will be happy to share lessons learned with the All-Ireland bid.

Science Museum Group

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the performance of the management of the Science Museum Group.

Mr Edward Vaizey: As with all of the national museums and galleries sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, I have every confidence in the capabilities of the executive team at the Science Museum Group. Since 2012, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester has become part of the Science Museum Group, and in 2013-14, a record 5.709 million visited its family of museums.

Optical Fibres

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom on the regulation of BT Openreach and other companies' fibre access costs.

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of regulating BT Openreach and other companies' fibre access costs on his Department's plans to increase superfast broadband coverage.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I have regular discussions with Ofcom and the subjects discussed include all aspects of the regulation of the telecoms markets.A range of infrastructure providers is playing a part in extending the coverage of superfast broadband across the UK. In general, the most effective and efficient way to provide superfast broadband on the Openreach network is to upgrade existing cabinets to fibre. This is feasible for most of the 95% of UK premises that are covered under the existing BDUK programme.Openreach is not the only provider of Next Generation Access (NGA) infrastructure – i.e. fibre - in the UK. Virgin Media and KCOM (in the Hull area) and a number of other network providers are also rolling out their own networks to provide broadband or superfast broadband services. The smaller providers have smaller networks, usually where Openreach and Virgin Media’s NGA networks are not present. Many operators, such as Sky and TalkTalk, provide services using the BT Openreach network.There are also a range of community-led broadband projects across the UK, many of which have been supported by Government funding and receive technical, procurement and legal support from Government. There are also projects that are community owned, built and operated; for instance Broadband 4 the Rural North (B4RN) The Honourable Member’s own constituency; as well as small commercial investors in fibre and wireless technology broadband.Since 2011, BT has been obliged to offer passive infrastructure access (PIA) to operators across the UK for the deployment of access networks. In Ofcom’s Fixed Access Market Review, published in June 2014, the Regulator decided to maintain this obligation on BT.Ofcom is responsible for regulation of the UK telecommunications markets and the Government's broadband programme is consistent with the UK regulatory regime operated by Ofcom. Ofcom’s regulatory approach has been to encourage commercial investment by allowing for pricing flexibility to incentivise commercial providers to roll out fibre to the maximum extent. By incentivising providers and achieving maximum commercial coverage, there are fewer areas in which the Government has had to become involved.

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish his response to the Digital Communications Infrastructure Strategy consultation.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government believes that a long term strategy is crucial to ensure that the UK has the right digital communications infrastructure to meet increasing user demand and to maintain the UK's international competitiveness. This Strategy, which we will publish in early 2015, will set out an ambitious and coherent long term vision for the UK and will consider what action needs to be taken to put in place the right digital communications infrastructure, both fixed and wireless, over the next 10 years.

Parliament

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings he and Ministers in his Department have had with the Leader of the House, the Speaker or other officials of Parliament to discuss preserving the Parliamentary Estate.

Mr Edward Vaizey: DCMS Ministers have not attended any meetings with the Leader of the House, the Speaker or other officials of Parliament on the preservation of the Parliamentary Estate.

Broadband Delivery UK

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many full-time equivalent employees his Department employs in BDUK; and how many such employees were previously employed by BT.

Mr Edward Vaizey: As at the 1 November 2014, there were 93.4 full-time equivalent staff in BDUK. This includes temporary staff and consultants as well as civil service employees. As far as the Department is aware, six members of staff have been previously employed by BT.

Recreation Spaces: Maps

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.219 in Autumn Statement 2014, how much funding he has allocated to the free online map of green space in each financial year to 2019-20; and when that map will be publicly available.

Mrs Helen Grant: The green spaces map is a matter for the Ordnance Survey, who are the responsibility of my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. DCMS has provided no funding to this programme.

Broadband: Urban Areas

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 1.118 in Autumn Statement 2014, what the process was by which the cities who received broadband vouchers was decided; and which cities were (a) considered and (b) rejected for those vouchers.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The 22 Super-Connected Cities were selected during 2012 in two waves (10 in wave 1 and 12 in wave 2). They were assessed on a number of criteria, based on the quality of their bids at the time and with particular focus on project governance and management. For wave 1, 14 cities were considered and Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds and Bradford, London, Manchester and Newcastle were successful. For wave 2, 18 cities were considered and Aberdeen, Brighton & Hove, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Derry/Londonderry, Newport, Oxford, Perth, Portsmouth, Salford and York were successful.

Buildings

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.255 in Autumn Statement 2014, how much the Government plans to spend on considering the benefits and costs of the relocation of the museum collections currently housed at Blythe House; how many full-time equivalent employees will undertake that work; and when he plans to publish the results of that consideration.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Autumn Statement set out the Government’s intention to consider the benefits and costs of the relocation of the museum collections currently housed at Blythe House. This consideration will follow the process for developing public sector business cases set out in the Green Book Supplementary Guidance. We expect to announce our conclusions next year. As part of this consideration, DCMS procured a market value assessment and advice at a cost of £101,308. It is not possible at this stage to confirm total expenditure on the business case process, but DCMS resource allocated to this work is currently approximately 2.5 FTE.

World War I: Anniversaries

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.253 in Autumn Statement 2014, by what process funding for First World War Arts projects will be awarded; and over what timescale.

Mrs Helen Grant: The Government will provide £3 million - (£1.5m in 2015/2016 and £1.5m in 2016/2017) to 14-18 NOW, WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, for a UK-wide programme of innovative cultural and artistic projects during the summer of 2016 to mark major events of the First World War including the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. The programme will have a particular focus on northern English cities given the number of men from those cities who joined the famous Pals Battalions.

Tourism

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.246 in Autumn Statement 2014, how much funding has been allocated in each financial year to 2019-20 to support tourism; and what specific measures that covers.

Mrs Helen Grant: With reference to para 2.246 in the Autumn Statement, £4.4m has been allocated to tourism in 15/16 and details will be announced in due course. Plans for spending beyond 15/16 will be determined in the next Spending Review. This Government recognises the importance of the tourism sector in delivering jobs and growth across the UK. It launched the GREAT campaign to capitalise on the opportunity of London 2012, and has secured investment of over £165m to market Great British holiday destinations at home and abroad.

Radio Frequencies

Sir Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to safeguard the use of radio microphones and related equipment under the Government's spectrum allocation policy.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom is currently conducting a strategic review of the PMSE sector’s future spectrum requirements. One of the objectives of this review is to ensure audio PMSE devices have access to sufficient spectrum to continue delivering the benefits they provide following Ofcom’s decision to make the 700 MHz band available for mobile data. Ofcom is aiming to conlcude this review in 2015.

Broadband

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the eight pilot schemes for reaching areas without superfast broadband are; and what progress those pilot schemes have made.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The market test pilots, announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in June 2014, will put the government and broadband industry in a better position to roll out superfast broadband to the final 5% of premises by: · Generating evidence about the cost of delivering superfast speeds in these hardest to reach areas, in order to better understand the level of public investment that will be needed;· Building capacity and capability in the market, and increase the market’s knowledge of State aid requirements, by sharing the pilot findings as widely as possible;· Generating evidence about expected levels of take-up in hardest to reach areas, and how it can be incentivised. The eight pilots have now completed their feasibility phase and Broadband Delivery UK is assessing whether projects have demonstrated that they are financially and technically viable before they proceed into deployment early in the New Year.A table with details of the eight pilots is below.  TestingSupplierProposed solutionLocationTotal Funding WirelessAB InternetA hybrid fixed line/fixed wireless superfast rural broadband network. All services on the proposed pilot network will be delivered via an end to end network and will deliver end user speeds of up to 50MbpsWales£847,650 WirelessAirwaveDemonstrating how four next-generation wireless systems will operate in the field. The four are: Wi-Fi at 2.4Ghz, point-to-multipoint broadband fixed wireless access at 2.4 Ghz or 5.8Ghz, LTE small cells and TV white space.North Yorkshire£1,564,600WirelessQuicklineTesting a range of line of sight, near line of sight and non-line of site technologies combined with a BDUK funded voucher scheme to maximise early uptake and avoid social exclusion.North Lincolnshire£2,054,000   SatelliteAvantiPiloting a new superfast satellite broadband wholesale platform to deliver a 30Mbps service using its Ka-band satellites.Northern Ireland and Scotland£885,640SatelliteSatellite InternetPiloting superfast satellite broadband using Ka-band satellite for both uplink/downlink as backhaul for local wireless networks, and directly to customers' premises.Devon and Somerset£175,125   Mixed:Fibre, fixed wireless, sub-loop unbundlingCall FlowTesting a range of innovative "hybrid" engineering techniques/solutions to achieve NGA delivery such as: sub loop unbundling of cabinets; building a significant fibre network that connects as many of the deployed 'SLU node areas' together as possible; NGA delivery using fixed wireless access; and fibre to the premise (FTTP).   Hampshire£1,194,145Financial model Cybermoor   Financing through social investmentDeveloping a financing solution to leverage social investment into fibre to the premise and wireless networks in the last 5%.Northumberland£449,997   Operating modelMLLAggregating small wireless networksCreating a common wholesale OSS/BSS platform for integrating/aggregating rural wireless networks. In addition integrate an existing rural network to allow it to be provided wholesale to other operators/ISPs and deploy a new Fixed Wireless Access network.Kent£957,900

Broadband

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 10.11 of the National Infrastructure Plan 2014, what the basis is for the assessment that £500 million will be needed for superfast broadband to reach an additional five per cent of the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The £500 million figure quoted in the National Infrastructure Plan is the estimated total public sector funding required to offset the commercial funding gap. It is therefore the estimated public sector contribution that combined with commercial investment would be needed to make deliver the additional 5% superfast broadband coverage viable for commercial investors.

South West

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate how much his Department has spent in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in each year since 2007-08.

Mrs Helen Grant: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



Apart from three specific programmes where the information is readily available, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not keep records of expenditure by individual constituency and would not be able to isolate this data, without incurring disproportionate costs. For those three programmes that are identifiable the expenditure is set out below: Listed Places of Worship ProgrammeFinancial yearCornwallIsle of ScilyTotal2007-0897,795097,7952008-09114,8730114,8732009-1071,950071,9502010-11396,03921,616417,6552011-1258,73510,24068,9752012-13159,8210159,8212013-14124,1150124,1152014-15 to date74,759074,759Total1,098,08731,8561,129,943  Memorial Grants SchemeFinancial yearCornwallIsle of ScilyTotal2007-080002008-095,99305,9932009-100002010-111,97601,9762011-120002012-130002013-140002014-15 to date000Total7,96907,969 Broadband Delivery – Mobile Infrastructure Programme Financial yearCornwallIsle of ScilyTotal2007-080002008-090002009-100002010-110002011-120002012-130002013-140002014-15 to date179,4540179,454Total179,4540179,454

Mobile Phones: Rural Areas

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the current Electronic Communications Code on the ability of mobile network operators to improve mobile voice and data coverage in rural areas.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mobile Phones

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received from mobile network operators on the reform of the Electronic Communications Code to assist their mobile coverage plans.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Public Buildings: WiFi

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the announcement on 30 October 2014 of free wifi in public buildings, by what procedure the list of buildings was decided; what criteria were used to select those buildings; what representations he received from local government and businesses in Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Bristol; how the cost will be funded; how much of that funding is from the Super Connected Cities budget; and what funds local authorities are contributing.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Super Connected Cities Programme is funding the implementation of Wi-Fi in Public Buildings in many of the 22 Super Connected Cities. The cities chose whether to run Wi-Fi projects and which public buildings should be included. Participating cities run the procurement and contracting process themselves. Some cities, such as Newcastle, are in the process of appointing a contractor. Others, such as Bristol, chose to allocate their Super Connected Cities allocations to other projects. The cities take responsibility for ongoing management of the Wi-Fi services and running costs. We have not received any representations from Glasgow, Nottingham and Sheffield regarding provision of Wi-Fi services.

Departmental Responsibilities

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the respective policy responsibilities of the Secretary of State for (a) Culture, Media and Sport and (b) Business, Innovation and Skills are with regard to (i) telecoms policy, (ii) the digital economy and (iii) the creative industries.

Mr Edward Vaizey: A joint DCMS and BIS Digital Economy Unit was set up in the summer to support a more co-ordinated approach to digital issues. I was appointed to the role of Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy and am a Minister in both BIS and DCMS. I am the minister with policy responsibility for telecoms policy, the digital economy and the creative industries, reporting to the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport for telecoms policy and the creative industries and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for the Digital Economy more generally.

Broadband: Urban Areas

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the Super Connected Cities budget (a) remaining for 2014-15 and (b) allocated for 2015-16 is allocated to advertising or advertising agencies.

Mr Edward Vaizey: We have allocated up to £2.2 million of the Super Connected Cities budget for 2014-15 for marketing of the connection Voucher Scheme. No funding has been allocated for marketing in 2015-16.

Broadband

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many broadband connection vouchers have been awarded in each month since March 2014; who the beneficiaries are; and in what regions those beneficiaries are located.

Mr Edward Vaizey: There have been 6,030 vouchers issued to small and medium sized businesses across the UK in the 22 Super Connected Cities. 280 vouchers were issued as part of the Market Test Pilot Phase, which commenced last summer, and a further 77 vouchers were issued by cities before March 2014. From March 2014 to November 2014 5,673 vouchers have been issued. The monthly issue rate is as follows:Mar-14 104Apr-14 187May-14 323Jun-14 387Jul-14 530Aug-14 644Sep-14 925Oct-14 1476Nov-14 1097  Voucher numbers are not collated on a regional basis. However, the breakdown of vouchers issued across the four nations of the UK since March is as follows:  England 4904Scotland 250Wales 209Northern Ireland 310

Wales Office

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Cairns: The Wales Office does not have any staff over the age of 65 years old.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Alun Cairns: The expenditure for the last five years is shown below:  (a) Consultants (b) Temporary Workers(c) Contingent Labour*Financial yearSpend (£)Spend (£)Spend (£)2009/101,845.757,604.0011,377.972010/116,870.85Nil32,046.522011/12Nil13,699.0036,602.662012/133,100.007,468.0038,903.142013/14NilNil114,023.26*The Wales Office only uses contingent labour until a post is filled substantively or to cover a temporary absence e.g. maternity leave. The number of people so employed and their equivalent salary band and length of contract (where relevant) is shown below:Financial Year(a) Consultants(b) Temporary Workers(c) Contingent Labour2009/101 consultant undertook research and a report thatspanned two financial years.1 AO on a 50 week contract.3 AOs2010/11 2 AOs2011/12Nil1 AO was on a 50 week contract spanningtwo financial years.1 AA and 1 AO2012/131. The Valuation Office Agency undertook a valuation of theWales Office London Office for the Departmental Accounts.1 AA, 2 AOs, 1 EO2013/14Nil 1 AA, 4 AOs, 1 EO and 2 HEOsLegend of Salary Bands: AA = Administrative Assistant; AO= Administrative Officer; EO = Executive Officer; HEO = Higher Executive Officer.Please note that the consultants were contracted to undertake specific work to a deadline. Contingent Labour workers are not offered individual contracts. The Wales Office uses the Ministry Of Justice Single Managed Service Provider contract for the provision of clerical contingent labour.

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Cairns: The Wales Office has less than 50 staff, and as the request relates to fewer than five staff, breaking the numbers down would risk the identification of individuals.

Deputy Prime Minister

Devolution

Hilary Benn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, with reference to paragraph 1.200 of the Autumn Statement 2014, which other city areas have come forward with devolution proposals.

Greg Clark: The Government is in discussion with all Local Enterprise Partnerships on a second round of Growth Deals which will see a further £1 billion of the £12 billion Local Growth Fund transferred to local authorities to drive local growth.  In addition, following the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s announcement on the 3 November of a Devolution Deal with Greater Manchester, several places have come forward with proposals to strengthen their governance arrangements in return for further devolution of powers. The Government is committed to further devolution if places are able to demonstrate strong governance and accountability arrangements and a strong delivery track record.

Department of Health

Maternal Mortality

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the socio-economic breakdown is of maternal deaths in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Data on the socio-economic classification of maternal deaths has been published as part of the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity. ‘Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care – Lessons learned to inform future maternity care from the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity 2009 – 2012’ was published on 9 December 2014 and can be found at:   www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports#   The report does not break down the data by individual year. The figures for all maternal deaths in 2009 – 2012 in the United Kingdom, shown by socio-economic status, are in the following table:   Socio-economic status (Index of Multiple Deprivation of postcode of residence)Total (n = 321)Frequency (%)First quartile (Least deprived)38 (11.8%)Second quartile42 (13.1%)Third quartile48 (14.9%)Fourth quartile80 (24.9%)Fifth quartile95 (29.6%)Missing18 (5.6%)  Socio-economic status (Occupational classification) Employed (Either woman or partner)201 (62.6%)Unemployed (Both)46 (14.3%)Missing74 (23.1%)

Miscarriage

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of women who have requested counselling after suffering a miscarriage; and how many such women have received such counselling.

Dr Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.

Vaccination: Travellers

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the Gypsy and Traveller community who have received immunisations recommended by the NHS.

Jane Ellison: Information on the uptake of vaccines among the Gypsy and Traveller community is not routinely collected.   In May 2013 the Journal of Public Health published a paper submitted by Public Health England entitled ‘Mapping the Gypsy Traveller community in England: what we know about their health service provision and childhood immunisation uptake’. A copy is attached. 



Mapping the Gypsy Traveller community in England
(PDF Document, 670.32 KB)

Breast Cancer

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2014 to Question 214485, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the guidance of NHS England's Breast Cancer Clinical Reference Group on clinical practice.

George Freeman: We have made no such assessment.   We expect clinicians to take account of available evidence-based guidance in making treatment decisions.   NHS England's Breast Cancer Clinical Reference Group is in the process of developing clinical guidance to commissioners and expects to publish its guidance in 2015. The Group’s recommendations and any implications for commissioning and clinical practice will be considered through NHS England’s governance arrangements in respect of its directly commissioned services and will be disseminated to clinical commissioning groups for local consideration.

Health Services: Devon

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects on patient care and access to treatment of reductions in and restrictions of services being implemented by NEW Devon Clinical Commissioning Group.

Jane Ellison: We are advised by NHS England that the Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has withdrawn proposals requiring patients to undergo weight loss or stop smoking ahead of routine surgery, and that other measures proposed by the CCG will be subject to a full public consultation, where appropriate, in the New Year.   We are further advised that NHS England is currently scrutinising the CCG's proposals, seeking assurance that they are in the best interests of patients, are based on sound evidence and are subject to a well-planned process.

Learning Disability: Nurses

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the sufficiency of specialist learning disability liaison nurses within NHS trusts.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The latest monthly workforce statistics for August 2014 published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre on 25 November show that there were 1,998 full time equivalent (FTE) nurses working in community learning disabilities and 1,965 FTE learning disability nurses working in other settings in the National Health Service in England. It is not possible within these numbers to separately identify specialist liaison nurses.   Local healthcare organisations, with their knowledge of the patients they serve, are best placed to plan and employ a workforce appropriate to the needs of their patients, based on clinical need and sound evidence.   The Department is working with Health Education England (HEE) on a number of initiatives to raise the profile of learning disability nursing and promote the profession as an attractive career choice. In 2014-15 HEE increased the number of training places for learning disability nurses by 4.5%.

NEW Devon Clinical Commissioning Group

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the financial deficit at NEW Devon Clinical Commissionng Group; and what steps he plans to take to address that deficit.

Jane Ellison: We are advised by NHS England that Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG ) is facing significant financial pressures with an end of year deficit of £14.5 million for 2013-14, and a similar deficit predicted for this financial year.   The CCG has stated that demand for services is outstripping what the CCG can afford and this increase in demand is having a serious effect on its financial position.   We understand that Devon is one of eleven financially challenged health economies to be provided with intensive support by NHS England and that the report of this work is due to be published shortly, along with planning guidance. The planning guidance will be a joint publication with the NHS Trust Development Authority, Monitor and NHS England.   The CCG has stated that its financial projections are being updated in light of the current pressures and the five year system-wide assessment of a potential finance gap between resources and the cost of health demand. As part of this work, an extensive detailed analysis of services and costs in the NEW Devon health economy is being conducted. The NHS England Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Area Team Director of Finance has given significant support and challenge to the CCG, to understand its financial position and to support the development of a financial recovery plan.   The NHS England Area Team has also been engaged with the CCG through the quarterly CCG assurance process, and has agreed a set of actions with timescales to improve the financial position of the CCG.

Obesity

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Change4Life anti-obesity campaign.

Jane Ellison: Change4Life is the Government’s flagship social marketing programme aimed at preventing childhood obesity by inspiring everyone to eat well, move more and live longer.   The Change4Life evaluation plan was published in 2012 and focused on a balanced scorecard of eight measures, designed to track how effective Change4Life was against its aims and objectives. Public Health England (PHE) reported back on these eight measures in the PHE Marketing Strategy 2014 to 2017, published 3 July 2014.   This concluded that the public investment in Change4Life has secured world-leading results: - Change4Life has partnered with over 200 national organisations providing more than £52 million of in-kind support. - It has more than 70,000 local supporters, including schools, general practices, charities and leisure centres, reporting that they collectively deliver 380,000 hours of unpaid time to the movement each year. - Since its launch more than 2.7 million people have signed up.

Pneumococcal Disease: Vaccination

Mr David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Quality on 3 November 2014, House of Lords Official Report, column 1422, whether the recommendations made by the pneumococcal disease sub-committee of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will be adopted by the JCVI upon completion of the sub-committee's work.

Mr David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Quality on 3 November 2014, House of Lords Official Report, column 1422, what the (a) membership and (b) terms of reference of the pneumococcal sub-committee of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will be.

Mr David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Quality on 3 November 2014, House of Lords Official Report, column 1422, what opportunities there will be for external stakeholders to contribute to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's review of adult pneumococcal vaccination.

Jane Ellison: The advice of Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Sub-committees is considered by the JCVI, often alongside key evidence on which the advice is based. Following consideration of the evidence, the JCVI will make a decision on adoption of the Sub-committee’s advice.   The JCVI review of the adult pneumococcal vaccination programme will begin in spring 2015, with a review of the relevant evidence being undertaken by a JCVI Pneumococcal Sub-committee. As set out in the JCVI Code of Practice, the JCVI will consider the advice of the Sub-committee and may decide to issue an interim statement for a short period of consultation with those stakeholders who submitted evidence that informed the Committee’s advice.   The role of JCVI Sub-committees and the mechanism for selection of Sub-committee membership is described in the JCVI Code of Practice. The membership of established sub-committees is set out in minutes of the meetings and on the GOV.UK web site at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation.   Draft terms of reference for the JCVI Pneumococcal Sub-committee will be considered and agreed at the first meeting of the sub-committee and recorded in the minute of the meeting.   The JCVI Code of Practice is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/224864/JCVI_Code_of_Practice_revision_2013_-_final.pdf

Health Services: Devon

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Trust Development Authority on how well relationships between NHS organisations in Devon function.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of how well relationships between NHS organisations in Devon are working.

Jane Ellison: We understand that David Flory CBE, Chief Executive Officer of the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) wrote to the hon. member on 11 December 2014 regarding the relationship between the Northern Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust.   With respect to the issues outlined in that letter, we understand that the TDA and NHS England are actively working with local NHS organisations on an ongoing basis to ensure the best outcomes for patients, and that TDA will be involved in the next annual planning round that will commence in the New Year.

Breast Cancer: Drugs

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of breast cancer patients whose treatment will potentially be affected following the re-evaluation of the Cancer Drugs Fund list in December 2014.

George Freeman: NHS England has not yet confirmed any decisions following its re-evaluation of certain drug and indication combinations currently included on the Cancer Drugs Fund national list.   NHS England has assured the Department that no patient whose treatment is currently being funded through the Fund will have funding withdrawn, as long as it is clinically appropriate that they continue to receive that treatment. In addition, no drug will be removed from the Fund where it is the only therapy for that condition.   We are committed to maintaining the Cancer Drugs Fund until the end of March 2016. We will carefully consider with NHS England what arrangements should be put in place for the long term.

Prescription Drugs

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2014 to Question 209346, what change has occurred to (a) the upper and (b) the lower end of the usual Quality Adjusted Life Year range set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's Guide to the Methods of Technology Appraisal in real terms (i) using the gross domestic product deflator, (ii) adjusting for health pay and price inflation and (iii) adjusting for the health component of the consumer price index.

George Freeman: It would not be methodologically sound to assess the relevance of the threshold range simply with reference to different measures of inflation. Other factors, such as rising demand for health care, are also relevant.   Independent research published by the University of York in 2013 suggests that, on the basis of spending decisions being taken in the National Health Service, it would not be appropriate to apply an inflation uplift to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) threshold range.   NICE issued supplementary advice to its Appraisal Committees on the appraisal of treatments for life extending, end-of-life treatments in January 2009. The guidance makes clearer the circumstances in which it may be appropriate to recommend the use of life-extending treatments licensed for terminal illnesses affecting small numbers of patients. NICE modified the flexibilities slightly in August 2009 to take account of issues that had arisen during their application by the Appraisal Committees.

Health Services: Travellers

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations and guidance produced by the National Inclusion Health Board with regard to access to health services by people who are Gypsy, Roma or Travellers.

Jane Ellison: Reports published by the National Inclusion Health Board have highlighted the need for an inclusive approach in planning and commissioning local services, set out useful examples of good practice for local areas to draw on in framing their services, and – through the Royal College of General Practitioners – published a guide on improving access to services for these groups.   The implementation of these recommendations and guidance continues to be carried forward by clinical commissioning groups, health and wellbeing boards and other key partners. We are continuing to consider what more can be done to improve the health outcomes of the Inclusion Health groups across the health system, including for people who are Gypsy, Traveller or Roma.

Lung Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with lung disease in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: This data is not available in the format requested.

Laxatives: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to monitor and control the use of laxatives for teenage children.

George Freeman: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the body responsible for regulating all medicines in the United Kingdom on behalf of health ministers. MHRA keeps under review the safety of all medicines in use and where necessary takes appropriate action to safeguard public health. Medicines containing laxatives are currently available without a prescription.   The risk of abuse of laxatives has been considered by the MHRA and its independent expert advisory body – the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM). The CHM has previously advised that restrictions on the current availability of stimulant laxatives were not justified by the data then available. However, CHM has now recommended that stronger warnings should be added to the information accompanying these medicines emphasizing that laxatives do not aid weight loss and that taking them regularly for a long time is harmful.   MHRA is working with marketing authorisation holders of stimulant laxative products to introduce these new warnings. MHRA will continue to monitor the safety in use of non-prescription laxatives and will take further action if necessary.

Food Poverty

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to people at risk of hunger.

Jane Ellison: The Healthy Start scheme provides a nutritional safety net for pregnant women, new mothers and children under four years old in families throughout the United Kingdom who are claiming income-based benefits and tax credits.   Our successful Change4Life programme encourages everyone in England to 'eat well, move more, live longer' with a specific focus on lower income families with 5-11 year old children. Since its launch more than 1.9 million families have joined Change4Life. Its tools and resources incentivise and encourage behaviour change. The Meal Mixer app, for example, has been downloaded more than a million times and contains hundreds of quick, healthy and affordable family recipes.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Dr Daniel Poulter: For each of the last five financial years 2009-10 to 2013-14, the overall amount of money spent by the Department of Health (DH) on consultants and contingent labour/ temporary agency staff is included in the tables below. Figures are from the Department of Health Annual report and Accounts.   Table 1: Total Core DH Consultancy spend by financial year Cash (£ million)Resource (£ million) 2009-102010-112011-122012-13*2013-142013-14Core Department£108.3 £9.797£2.920 £5.472 £4.985£0.588 Connecting for Health£6.3 £4.975£11.997£12.927N/AN/A   Table 2: Total Core DH Contingent Labour/Temporary/Agency worker spend by financial yearResource (£ million) 2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14Core Department£88.942£89.614£36.886£44.049£39.991Connecting for Health£129.415£62.160£34.078£12.927N/A   *Changes to core DH consultancy spend reporting from 2013-14 will now be based on the newly stated DH resource accruals position- which is £588,000. This is no longer comparable or on a like-for like basis against all former reported purchase orders in line with Crown Commercial Services (CCS) definitions in previous years 2009-10 to 2012-13 i.e the figures for the previous years in the table. We will however, continue to capture and report on CCS definitional spend (currently £4.985 million) as part of the DH family Workforce Management Information notification required to Cabinet Office and this is the like for like comparison figures for the previous years in the table.   Notes: 1. Figures for Contingent labour/Temporary Agency values are on a resource basis and are consistent with published accounts.   2. 2013-14 Connecting for Health spend is no longer reported as part of core DH reporting.   The Department does not directly employ consultants or contingent labour/temporary agency staff. It contracts for the delivery of consultancy and contingent labour services. Information on consultants and temporary staff numbers in the Department is however, published in the monthly “Information on the workforce of the Department of Health (DH) and its agencies” and is available on the .Gov website.   The Department‘s Business Management System may hold data on consultancy, contingent labour, and agency staff costs where it is stored centrally for a specific budget approval period. To work out contract length details and equivalent civil service pay rates for all years requested would incur disproportionate cost.

Blood: Contamination

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress his Department has made in formulating a new scheme of support for those who contracted haemophilia or hepatitis C as a result of contaminated NHS blood supplies; what assessment he has made of the effect on the implementation of such a scheme of the dissolution of Parliament before it is completed; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Work on what can be done to improve the system of support for those affected by HIV or hepatitis C through historic treatment with NHS supplied blood or blood products is detailed and ongoing. When that work is complete, we will make an announcement to hon. Members and affected individuals.

Antidepressants: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescriptions were issued for antidepressant medication in (a) Kent, (b) Medway and (c) Gillingham and Rainham constituency in each of the last 10 years.

George Freeman: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables.   Antidepressant prescription items dispensed in the community in 2006-07 by specific Primary Care Trust (PCT)   Issuing organisationPrescription items (000s)East Kent Coastal Teaching PCT71.3Eastern & Coastal Kent PCT218.3Medway PCT131.7South West Kent PCT55.9West Kent PCT200.7 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre   Antidepressant prescription items dispensed in the community in 2007-08 to 2012-13 by specific PCT   Prescription Items (000s)Issuing organisation2007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13Eastern & Coastal Kent PCT462.7490.9537.6590.1647.0691.0Medway PCT142.6152.1173.5199.2222.0243.3West Kent PCT426.7460.7509.2558.3613.3651.1 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre   Antidepressant prescription items dispensed in the community in 2013/14 by specific clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)   Issuing organisationPrescription items (000s)Ashford CCG107.6Canterbury And Coastal CCG180.0Dartford, Gravesham And Swanley CCG215.7Medway CCG265.3South Kent Coast CCG181.3Swale CCG105.9Thanet CCG161.7West Kent CCG483.6 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre   Notes: Data on the number of prescription issued is not available. Data on the number of prescription items dispensed in the community are available and have been provided.   We have defined Antidepressant medication as per British National Formulary (BNF) section 4.3 Antidepressant Drugs.   There is no data available at constituency level. Data is available at PCT and CCG.   The structure of NHS organisations has changed several times within the period requested and organisations may not be comparable within the years of change. Data is only available from 2006-07 to 2013-14.   This information was obtained from the Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool (PACT) system, maintained by NHS Prescription Services, a division of NHS Business Services Authority, which covers prescriptions prescribed by general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and others in England and dispensed in the community in the United Kingdom. For data at PCT level, prescriptions written by a prescriber located in a particular PCT but dispensed outside that PCT will be included in the PCT in which the prescriber is based. The data available in PACT is a rolling 60 month dataset. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. Prescriptions written in hospitals /clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals, dental prescribing and private prescriptions are not included in PACT data. It is important to note this as some BNF sections have a high proportion of prescriptions written in hospitals that are dispensed in the community. For example, BNF chapter 4, "Central Nervous System" has a fair proportion of items written in mental health clinics that are dispensed in the community - these prescriptions are not included in PACT data.   Prescription Items: Prescriptions are written on a prescription form known as a FP10. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item.   BNF Classifications: The PACT system uses the therapeutic classifications defined in the BNF. Information on why a drug is prescribed is not available in this dataset. Since drugs can be prescribed to treat more than one condition, it may not be possible to separate the different conditions for which a drug may have been prescribed.

Mental Health Services: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions and at what cost patients who were admitted to psychiatric facilities run by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust were placed out of area in the last year.

Norman Lamb: We are advised by the NHS Trust Development Agency that in the last year, 356 service users were placed in out of area beds a total of 438 times, at a cost of £5,671,000.

Mental Illness: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many premature deaths related to mental health issues were registered by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust in each of the last five years; and what the initial diagnosis was in each such case.

Norman Lamb: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the following table.   Number of suicides of patients under the care of Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust patients 2010/11 – 2013/14   YearSuicides2010/11302011/12342012/13432013/1439Total146 Source: NHS Trust Development Agency

Radiotherapy

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of cancer patients currently have access to (a) intensity modulated, (b) image-guided and (c) stereotactic radiotherapy.

Jane Ellison: The proportion of cancer patients receiving Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) is not routinely reported. However, as of September 2014, 36% of radical treatment was performed using inverse planned IMRT. The number of IMRT episodes is expected to rise from just over 8,500 per year in 2012-13 to a projected figure of over 25,000 for 2014-15.   Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) refers to the use of imaging during the delivery of radiotherapy treatment and is considered to be an integral part of the radiotherapy course and not a separate element. The current coding structure supporting radiotherapy activity does not allow for the separate identification of IGRT. It is therefore not possible to identify a specific proportion of cancer patients that undergo IGRT.   NHS England commissions stereotactic radiotherapy (SABR) as an option in the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer not suitable for surgery. Since April 2014 there has been an activity code for SABR, which is recorded on the national radiotherapy dataset. However, as this is a new code this year, it is not yet universally used by providers at present. It is therefore not possible to identify a specific proportion of cancer patients that undergo SABR.

Mental Health Services: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have applied to Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust for mental health treatments in each of the last five years; and what treatment was received for each such diagnosis for every year available.

Norman Lamb: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.   Total referrals to Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust for mental health treatments 2010 - 2014   YearTotal referrals to treatment201035,826201138,565201239,304201337,305201435,513Total186,513 Source: NHS Trust Development Agency

Staff

George Hollingbery: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average (a) chief executive/secretary remuneration and (b) number of full-time equivalent staff was in each of his Department's (i) advisory non-departmental public bodies, (ii) executive agencies, (iii) executive non-departmental public bodies, (iv) non-ministerial departments and (v) tribunal non-departmental public bodies in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Advisory non-departmental public bodies (ANDPBs) do not generally employ staff but are supported by their parent department. Seven of the Department’s eight ANDPBs do not have staff and the eighth, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, reported two full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the Public Bodies 2014 Report.   Of the eight ANDPBs, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel has a paid Chief Executive/Secretary position with a salary of £112,200.   The average Chief Executive remuneration for the executive agencies is £167,500.   The average number of FTE staff for the Department’s executive agencies as at 31 October 2014 was 3,244.   The average Chief Executive remuneration for executive non-departmental public bodies is £175,357.   The average number of FTE staff for the Department’s executive non-departmental public bodies as at 31 October 2014 was 1,635   Non-ministerial departments (Food Standards Agency):   The last period for which figures are available is the 2013-14 financial year.   For that period the Chief Executive remuneration was a salary of between £140,000 and £145,000 plus bonus of between £10,000 and £15,000.   The average number of FTE staff was 1,264 for 2013-14. This figure excludes the board and temporary staff (contractors, agency staff, casuals and staff on fixed term contracts). The average FTE staff including temporary staff and Board members was 1,787. Both figures exclude staff who are members of the FSA Scientific Advisory committees.   The last annual report and accounts for the FSA can be found at:   http://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/multimedia/pdfs/publication/fsa-report-accounts-2014.pdf   The Department does not have any tribunal non-departmental public bodies.

Nurses: Foreign Workers

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses employed in the NHS do not have the necessary English language skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses from outside the EU.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not centrally held or collected.   The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties, including registration of nurses. The Department expects the NMC’s registration processes and associated checks to be appropriate, robust, fit for purpose and effective, and verify that a nursing applicant is who they claim to be, is appropriately qualified, is competent and fit-to-practise.   This Government is firmly committed to improving public protection by ensuring that only healthcare professionals who have a sufficient knowledge of the English language are able to work in the UK. Accordingly, we have consulted the public on amending legislation to enable the NMC to apply language controls, where appropriate, for nursing applicants from within the European Economic Area. This consultation ended on the 15 December 2014 and a Government response will be published in due course.

Radiotherapy

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many individual funding requests per indication were received by NHS England for radiotherapy treatment in the last financial year; and how many such requests were refused.

Jane Ellison: 407 individual funding requests were received for stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy in 2013-14 nationally. Of these 86 were declined. There were no individual funding requests for other types of radiotherapy.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the rebate from the PPRS scheme (a) in cash terms and (b) as a proportion of overall medicines spend in 2015-16 and 2016-17; and what earlier estimate his Department has made for that period.

George Freeman: The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) payment estimate for the United Kingdom in 2015-16 is £995 million. The increase in PPRS payment estimates has been taken into account as part of the NHS Mandate allocation for 2015-16. The latest estimate of overall health service medicines spend (branded and generic) for England in 2013-14 is £13,339 million. This is the latest year for which data is available. As this is for a different period and is England only, it would be misleading to express the anticipated PPRS Payments for 2015-16 as a proportion of that spend.   We do not intend to publish an estimate of cash payments for 2016-17, as it is not possible to make a reliable estimate looking this far ahead. The payment percentages for 2015 and 2016 are currently estimated to be 10.36% and 15.0% of eligible branded spend respectively, however 2016 will be adjusted on the basis of final outturn in 2014, 2015, and is therefore indicative.

Hospital Beds

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions each (a) NHS trust and (b) NHS foundation trust, on which dates, have had bed occupancy rates of 100 per cent for (i) maternity and (ii) general and acute beds since May 2010.

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested.

Tobacco: Packaging

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the latest date is by which his Department could table regulatory proposals on the standardised packaging of tobacco under the Children and Families Act 2014, if they were to be voted on before the end of this Parliament.

Jane Ellison: The Government has not yet made a final decision on whether to introduce standardised packaging of tobacco products. The Government continues to consider carefully all issues relevant to the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products and a decision will be taken in due course. The United Kingdom notified the draft regulations under the EU Technical Standards Directive (Directive 98/34/EC). Pursuant to this Directive, the regulations cannot be made until after the notification ‘standstill’ period has ended on 2 March 2015. If the Government does decide to proceed with standardised packaging, a decision will then be made as to the appropriate Parliamentary timetable for the proposed regulations.

Health: Business

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many companies have signed Public Health Responsibility Deal pledges with measurable targets; and how many such companies have met those targets.

Jane Ellison: Full details of the pledges under the Responsibility Deal (RD), including the partners who have signed up and their annual updates are available on the RD website at:   https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/

Kidney Cancer: Drugs

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients in England with advanced renal cell carcinoma have accessed treatment through the Cancer Drug Fund since April 2013.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that it does not hold this information centrally.   Between April 2013 and 30 September 2014, there have been 1,227 requests for drugs for advanced renal cell carcinoma through the Cancer Drugs Fund. However, actual uptake of treatment is dependent on variables which are unique to the patient’s individual clinical circumstances, the progression of the disease and the patient’s own choices.

Obesity: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many child inpatient admissions with a primary diagnosis of obesity there have been in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The Health and Social Care Information Centre has provided a count of finished admissions episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis of obesity, where the patient was aged between 0 and 17 inclusive for each year from 2008-09 to 2012-13. This information is provided in the following table:   YearFAEs2008-098792009-107482010-116202011-125922012-13645   Notes: 1. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.   2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.  3. The patient age in years is taken at the start of the episode of care. With finished admission episodes this is the age on admission to hospital.

Colorectal Cancer

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) colonoscopy tests and (b) flexible sigmoidoscopy tests took place in the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is shown in the table below.   Number of colonoscopy tests and flexible sigmoidoscopy tests carried out in 2009-10 to 2013-14 (on a provider basis)   YearNumber ofColonoscopytestsNumber of Flexible sigmoidoscopytests2009-10315,657197,3422010-11324,429200,4622011-12360,443217,7672012-13399,637232,6742013-14401,278228,756   Source: Monthly diagnostic waiting times and activity, NHS England

Colorectal Cancer

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the percentage coverage of flexible-sigmoidoscopy screening was at the end of (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and what the projected coverage of such screening is for the end of 2015-16.

Jane Ellison: The Bowel Scope Screening (BSS) programme began at the end of March 2013. As of 31 March 2014 36% of BSS flexible sigmoidoscopy centres were operational, exceeding the 30% target. It is planned that 60% of centres will be operational by the end of March 2015.   As at the end of August 2014, 47,637 invitations have been issued and 15,800 BSS procedures had been performed. Uptake stood at approximately 44% and ranged from 38% in the lowest site to 51% in the highest. 625 people had been referred to colonoscopy following a BSS with 17 cancers detected and 273 high/immediate risk polyps and 233 low risk polyps managed or removed.

Smoking

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent on NHS smoking cessation services in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Information relating to spend on smoking cessation services in the following table:  2012/132011/122010/112009/102008/9   Total expenditure (£000s)87,70688,23384,34883,87973,675   “Statistics on stop smoking services in England” are available from the Health and Social Care Information Centre as part of their lifestyles data set:   www.hscic.gov.uk/lifestyles   Several organisations have not been able to provide financial data in the returns for 2012/13 so this data will represent a lower than actual national spend in this financial year.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding mental health trusts have received in real-terms in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Local commissioners allocate funding appropriate for the need of the local population. The aggregate expenditure on mental health disorders by primary care trust (PCT), for financial years 2008-09 to 2012-13 is set out in the table below.  Financial YearExpenditure (£ billion)2008-099.792009-1010.612010-1110.962011-1211.162012-1311.28 Source: NHS England Programme Budget Data Aggregate PCT expenditure is not yet available for 2013-14. However, NHS England advises that total mental health spending in 2013-14 was £11.362 billion with an estimated £11.664 billion planned in 2014-15, an increase of £302 million, 0.6% increase in real terms.

NHS Walk-in Centres

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what charges are in place for patients who use NHS walk-in centres; and which of these charges have been introduced since May 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The National Health Service is free at the point of delivery and NHS walk in centres cannot impose charges in respect of any treatment provided under their contracts - whether by way of an essential or an additional service.

Health Services: Weather

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many requests his Department has received from (a) acute trusts, (b) ambulance trusts and (c) mental health trusts for emergency financial assistance to cope with upcoming winter pressures.

Jane Ellison: The Government has provided £700m to help the National Health Service cope with winter pressures.   There have been no direct requests from individual acute, ambulance or mental health trusts for emergency financial assistance to cope with upcoming winter pressures.

Radiotherapy

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average throughput of fractions was per radiotherapy machine in England in each of the last five years.

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made towards the objective set in Improving Outcomes: A Cancer Strategy for England, published in January 2011 of an average throughput of 8,700 fractions per radiotherapy machine per year.

Jane Ellison: From 2009-10 throughput has been measured in attendances. This was as a result of a drive to standardise coding practice across England. This answer therefore presents average attendances, rather than average fractions. A conversion factor of 1 fraction to 0.87 attendances has been used.   The average number of attendances per machine (linear accelerator) in England has been documented by the National Audit Office and is attached to this response.   The average number of attendances per machine in England (2013-14) was 7,084 attendances each year; using the conversion methodology this equates to around 8,143 fractions.   However, a number of factors impact on the average attendances for radiotherapy, chief amongst these are:   - The availability of a new generation of radiotherapy equipment. This is already installed in some departments across England and offers the opportunity to both increase the number of patients that can be treated per hour and also expand access to more innovative treatments. - Complexity of treatments required coupled with changing clinical practice. Emerging evidence suggests that delivering fewer fractions, and therefore attendances, produces clinically equivalent outcomes. - Changing population demographics. An ageing population, with increasing levels of co-morbidity, will require longer treatment times. This has potential to reduce the average attendance figure.   NHS England, working with the Radiotherapy Clinical Reference Group, are planning to build on an earlier assessment of radiotherapy demand and capacity for England by considering aspects such as innovative treatments, stock of equipment and how need differs across different localities. This national overview will enable commissioners to make certain that the right services are in the right places to meet future demands, including innovative forms of radiotherapy. 



Radiotherapy table
(Word Document, 54.42 KB)

NHS: Staff

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full time equivalent staff in the NHS in England were employed as (a) diagnostic radiographers, (b) clinical radiologists, (c) ultrasonographers, (d) medical endoscopists, (e) nurse endoscopists, (f) radiotherapy physics staff, (g) nuclear medicine technologists, (h) therapeutic radiographers and (i) clinical oncologists in each of the last five years; and how many of each group were at consultant level.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre publish an annual workforce census, which shows staff working in the National Health Service in England. The latest information from the census was published in March 2014 and shows the position at 30 September 2013, the next annual census will be published in March 2015. The available information is in the attached tables. Data for ultrasonographers, medical endoscopists or nurse endoscopists is not available as these staff cannot be separately identified.   Data on consultants is only applicable for the medical staff – clinical radiologists and oncologists. 



Diagnostic Radiographers
(Excel SpreadSheet, 28.99 KB)

Stationery

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on (a) stationery and (b) printing costs in (i) each of the last four years and (ii) 2014-15 to date.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department of Health has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services: Private Sector

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of the NHS budget was spent on commissioning private providers in each of the last five years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information requested is provided in the table below:   YearSpend on independent providers as a % of total NHS revenue spend2009-104.4%2010-114.9%2011-125.3%2012-135.5%2013-146.1%   Independent providers, both for-profit and not-for-profit, have long through successive governments been providing care to National Health Service patients. Under this Government competition between providers of NHS services has been pursued on the basis of competition for quality through a system of fixed national tariffs. Our neutral position on who should provide services is taken to ensure patients receive the best possible services and outcomes. These decisions are taken by the local clinicians, who are best placed to act for the benefit of their patients.

Kidney Cancer: Scotland

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the approval by the Scottish Medicines Consortium of two second line treatments for renal cell carcinoma, if he will direct the Cancer Drug Fund panel to ensure that patients in England will continue to have access to treatments that are available on the NHS in Scotland for that condition.

George Freeman: We have no plans to do so. Decisions on which drugs are made available through the Cancer Drugs Fund are for NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund panel, in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures for the Fund.   There are two drugs for the second-line treatment of renal cell carcinoma – Afinitor (everolimus) and Inlyta (axitinib) - currently available through the Fund.   Inlyta is also being appraised for this condition by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and final draft guidance recommending its use was published on 16 December 2014.   NHS England has assured the Department that no patient whose treatment is currently being funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund will have funding withdrawn, as long as it is clinically appropriate that they continue to receive that treatment. In addition, no drug will be removed from the Fund where it is the only therapy for that condition.

Dementia

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2014 to Question 212899, whether it is his Department's policy to encourage NHS staff to become dementia friends.

Norman Lamb: The Department would encourage as many people as possible, including NHS staff, to become Dementia Friends in order to help people with dementia live more independent lives in their communities.

Cancer: Drugs

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what factors will be considered in decisions as to which drugs are delisted from the Cancer Drug Fund.

George Freeman: The factors that will be taken into account by NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund panel are detailed at paragraph 6.7 of the Standard Operating Procedures for the Fund which is available at:   www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/